


Hidden Secret

by SG_96



Category: Fire Emblem: Kakusei | Fire Emblem: Awakening
Genre: Eventual Romance, Explicit Language, F/M, Game Spoilers, How Do I Tag, Hurt/Comfort, Mild Smut, Minor scenes with Chrom/Sumia pairing, My First Fanfic In A While, Unplanned Pregnancy, always use protection kids, cant write smut to save my life, many more characters to be added probably, only person who dies is Emm i swear, slight deviation from the main story, story only follows up to chapter 11 in game then it deviates
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-07-12
Updated: 2018-06-11
Packaged: 2018-12-01 04:08:50
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 14
Words: 81,591
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11478300
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SG_96/pseuds/SG_96
Summary: In a moment full of grief and pain, Frederick and Robin lose themselves to their passions... and such actions have serious consequences... Consequences Robin is afraid of sharing.***Life update!-Yall I been getting my butt kicked this semester. I haven't abandoned this, I just haven't had the chance to write! ;u;





	1. How it all happened

What had just happened? Why did it happen? Could it have been stopped? Why didn’t she try harder to find a solution to this?

All these questions ran through Robin’s head as she stared off blankly into the woods from her spot in the campsite, next to the fire. They had just returned from trying to rescue Emmeryn and it all went wrong… Completely wrong. Why had she not seen those Risen coming? She should have thought about every possible, ridiculous, unrealistic outcome out there but no! Never once did she consider that Risen would appear… and now… Emmeryn was gone… and it was all her fault. 

She was losing her mind. She was close to having a complete and utter meltdown right then and there. The guilt and self-doubt gnawed at her relentlessly. She could not do this again; could not take these amazing people out into battle to their deaths in good conscience. She would fail them, just like she failed Emmeryn. She was not as great a tactician as everyone claimed that she was… and now because of her, they lost the people’s hope. 

“Hey,” Sully’s strong, gruff voice pulled her out of her thoughts immediately as the female approached her. “Chrom was looking for you.” 

Robin blinked and stared at Sully as if she had spoken in another language. When Sully cleared her throat, due to her not responding immediately, Robin came to her senses once more. “Oh… oh!” she gasped quickly as she finally processed what Sully had just told her. Clearly her head was elsewhere. “I will go. Thank you for retrieving me,” she said quickly as she hurried away from Sully. She could tell that Sully had noticed her odd behavior and would probably say something around the lines of, ‘snap out of it, you idiot’, and she currently was not in the mood for… rough pep talk. If only it were truly that easy; to snap out of it just like that. 

As she made her way to Chrom’s tent, she could not bring herself to look up at anyone. The guilt weighed heavily on her mind. There were several Shepherds out and about and the atmosphere was clearly tense and dark. Robin assumed they were tense because they watched her walk by. They all probably had the lines, ‘she killed Emmeryn’ going through their minds and she did not blame them… She too believed she killed her. Now that Emmeryn was gone, nobody seemed to have any spirit to go on anymore. Losing Emmeryn was just too much of a blow… and Robin felt all the blame on her. She did this. She was the only one responsible for this. 

What felt like a never ending, agonizing walk over burning coals with weights over her shoulders to keep her grounded against them finally came to an end as she reached Chrom’s tent. She could just hear it already. “How could you, Robin? We trusted you and you have failed us!” along with a round of, “You are no longer a Shepherd” and, “You are to leave at once.” She stared at the tent’s flap before her, unable to bring herself to open them. The simple, fragile, canvas material felt more like heavy, overbearing throne doors in her mind. 

With bated breath, Robin pushed aside the flap and ducked inside. “Chrom?” she called out to the male, unable to bring herself to look for him with her eyes. She kept them fixed on the floor, occasionally glancing at her soiled boots… that too added more guilt to her mind… Not only did she kill his sister, but now she tracked in dirt into his tent.

His response came in a few moments later, albeit quiet and broken. “Robin,” he managed to say, finding it difficult to form any words at the moment but he still managed to turn around and face his friend, a small smile on his features. The sentence that came next was nowhere near what she was expecting to hear him say…“I wanted to thank you…” 

The words struck her. What was he talking about? Maybe this was the sentence that precedes the words she was waiting for. Still, the simple sentence angered her just a little bit. She did not want to hear these things. She did not deserve those words.

“For what, Chrom?” the words came out faster, and harsher than Robin could have filtered them. She managed to look up then, noticing the sorrow in his eyes but he was still smiling sadly for her. It was then that she understood what he meant. He understood what she was going through, for he too felt the same. The same questions more than likely plagued his mind. And in that moment, her heart ached with pain or relief, she did not know. She could now tell he did not blame her for what happened when he really should be. 

“For trying your best,” he replied anyway, letting out a soft sigh as he ran a hand through his already disheveled hair. Clearly he had been running his hands through it multiple times during the day. “I understand your pain… Truly I do… but… beating ourselves up over this will not make the situation any better… I know that now. So please, try to be at peace, Robin. Emmeryn made a choice and we must honor it,” he tried to settle her restless mind, but he knew these words would do little to her, as it did little to him… but he knew that one day they will come to terms with it, and these words would heal them. 

Robin stared at Chrom, not wanting to believe a word he was telling her. Surely he should hate her; blame her for everything that befell his sister, so why could he be so nice to her? Forgive her so easily? “Chrom…” she tried to protest but he lowered his head as he raised a hand to stop her from continuing. 

“This was not your fault,” he said sternly, trying to get it across to her. 

“No, it is my fault. I should have seen it coming-!” Robin started quickly, her emotions starting to spill over but Chrom covered the distance between them in a few strides and pulled her into an embrace, squeezing her slightly. She wanted to cry against him but she held back. If… If she were to stay as Ylisse’s tactician, she needed to be able to handle her emotions after all... plus she hated showing so much weakness.

He let out a defeated sigh as he held her, closing his eyes for a moment as he tried to figure out what to say. It was not his strong suit to comfort people… He honestly had no idea how he managed to say the things he did a few minutes ago. “Robin, please… Neither of us could have seen this coming… I do not blame you for it.”

Robin remained in his arms for a moment, her troubled mind still plaguing her but at least now she now knew that Chrom truly meant was he was saying. At least he did not hate her or want her to leave… but still. 

“But you blame yourself, do you not?” she stated then, a small, sad smile on her features as she pulled back from him, eyeing him carefully at arm’s length. It was a weak attempt at a joke, but they both knew it was true. 

At that, Chrom let out an awkward laugh, rubbing a hand over his face. “Well… I cannot deny that I do… But even I can understand that it was not my fault… if that even makes any sense,” he added sheepishly, earning a small snort from the female before him. It did make sense in a way.

“Right… Well… It is getting late, Chrom… You should rest,” Robin sighed out, forcing a smile on her lips. She should have felt better with his words, but they only turned her agony, guilt, and regret to numbness… which she considered better than any of the previous emotions. Before Chrom could protest, she bid him goodnight and quickly departed the tent. 

The cool night air greeted her then, causing her to sigh once more. This would have normally been pleasing to her but today it just felt… heavy. Not to mention everyone had already retreated to their tents for the night… which left her alone with the thoughts that ate at her. She stood numb for a few minutes, trying to let Chrom’s words sink in and soothe her but they did little for her. Sure Chrom did not hate her, but what about everyone else? They most likely did hate her now… or just did not trust her as much as before.

“Should you not be calling it a night, Robin?” once more her thoughts were interrupted by a much deeper, smoother, male voice. 

Robin glanced over her shoulder to see Frederick standing there, as stiff and stern as usual. Though upon closer look, she noticed that he was not as composed as usual. She could see the pain in his eyes that he was trying hard to hide. He probably felt guilty just as her and Chrom did… She smiled a little at the thought that Frederick felt the same as them; someone else to share the burden with. Most people would say that Frederick was a stoic, unemotional, relentless knight, but Robin knew better. She had noticed that from time to time, he would show certain emotions depending on how he’s feeling as well as his behavior if one cared enough to get to know him. But she felt that she was the only one that knew these things… and it was mostly because she had been admiring him for months now; it was hard not to pick up on slight changes in him.

“I extend the suggestion over to you as well, Frederick… It’s been a long day after all,” Robin mused, genuinely smiling at him… it was a little odd that she could muster a smile for him so easily, but here she was. 

But of course she could smile like that… She was madly in love with the man. How could she not be? He was just so… well… honestly a pain in the ass and quite strict, but that was not the point! He had other charming qualities to him… for one he was quite protective of those he cherished… he claims it is out of duty but he has protected the other Shepherds before so he could lie all he wanted. He also made sure everyone had everything that they could possibly need for the day, and that they got enough sleep, and… well there were many other things but… he was just a real big pain in the ass to everyone almost all the time. She felt she was the only one that knew better. The thought alone made her giggle out loud which made Frederick raise an eyebrow at her. 

“Yes well… I am afraid I have much to do, therefore I cannot rest just yet,” he offered, eyeing her carefully. She looked exhausted, more so than usual. “Forgive me, Robin, but are you well?” he inquired then, which surprised Robin that he would ask about her wellbeing. 

If he asked such a thing, clearly she looked absolutely horrible. “Um… Yes. Perfectly fine, Frederick,” she said, a bit too strained, clearly not the best at lying. She could not let Frederick know about her emotions… This would cause him to worry… she knew it would even though he will try to hide it by being as brash as possible about it. 

Frederick could tell Robin was lying… mostly because her tone was much too obvious, and also because the bags under her eyes looked worse than usual. Also her shoulders were more slumped, as if they carried a great weight. How did he know all this? Well… how could he not? He had spent many months observing Robin, at first out of mistrust because surely a woman who claims to have lost her memory was a normal everyday occurrence, but then after she had proven herself to be trustworthy, he just could not seem to get her out of his mind. She was just so… strong and independent, yet also incredibly cunning. She would have been a fearsome foe to fight against… but he would never admit that out loud. She was just an incredible person to be around, but also a pain here and there… such as the time that she tried to get him to eat bear meat… sure, he asked for her assistance but still… the sneaky woman tricked him in the process… and dare he say that it had worked… until she said what meat it was.

It was then that he remembered that Robin was still there and was watching him expectantly. “I do not believe you are being honest,” he said flatly, thinking that he may have been a little rude with his statement just then. He should really learn to be more emotional with his words sometimes. 

Robin did not seem to mind though as she let out a small, weak laugh. “Yeah… You are correct about that,” she said as she broke eye contact with him. After a moment, she picked at the sleeves of her robes and nodded slowly. “I shall take my leave then…” she stated as she tried to step away from him but he seemed to follow her, which surprised her. She glanced up at him with a question written in her eyes.

“Allow me to accompany you,” he offered then in an attempt to mend his harshness from before. Robin did not give him a proper answer, but she stepped aside a bit so that he could walk with her to her tent. This was one of the rare moments that made Robin love this man more than she already did… He truly did care under his tough exterior. 

They both walked in comfortable silence, enjoying one another’s company but neither suspected that the other enjoyed it as much as the other did. It was with Frederick that her mind stops its relentless attack. She could finally breathe and think beyond the pain… and just think about Frederick. Unfortunately it did not take long for Robin to reach her tent though, which made her a little upset. She almost wanted to offer her assistance but knew that Frederick will brush her off and tell her to rest instead. 

“I believe this is goodnight,” Frederick said after a moment of just staring at the tent for what seemed like an eternity. 

Robin turned to face Frederick then and smiled sadly up at him. “I believe it is,” she trailed off, holding eye contact with him for much longer than she usually ever dared. To his credit, he did not break the eye contact at all. It was as if they both wanted to say something but could not form the words to. 

It was at that moment that a thought struck Robin. Seeing the life of someone she had recently met and was in contact with for several months end so quickly made her realize just how suddenly a life can end during these hard times. As she stared at Frederick, she could not stop thinking about the possibility of him not being there to fuss at everyone one day. That day could be later that day, or the next day, and so on. The thought caused her a great deal of distress. She could not take anyone’s life for granted. She knew that before but now… now it meant so much more to her.

She loved Frederick. She needed to tell him right at this moment. It could potentially be her last. Frederick could die at any moment, but so could she. Little did she know that Frederick was struggling with the same thoughts and emotions as hers. He loved Robin and he needed to tell her… but could he handle rejection? He withstands constant teasing, ill rumors, name calling, physical wounds from battles or training, and many other things, but here he was, worrying about rejection. He found it incredibly pathetic on his part… 

And they stood like that, lost in each other’s gaze, as they struggled to confess for several minutes. Robin did not know how or when she moved towards him, but she did. One of her hands reached up to his large, bulky armor and pulled on it so that Frederick would lean forward a bit, while her other hand cupped his cheek. She then leaned in and kissed him. She was not great with words and was simply more of a woman of action, but even this was something a little too daring. 

Once she realized what she had done, she quickly pulled away; her cheeks flushed red in embarrassment. “For…forgive me, Frederick…” she pleaded, trying to understand what she had just done. “I… I don’t know what came over me… I should just…” she trailed off, struggling to form the words as she pointed to her tent as if that would explain things to him. 

Frederick simply stood there stunned. What had just happened? Was he dreaming or did Robin really just kiss him? He watched as Robin attempted to retreat into her tent, still trying to process what had happened. Just as she had opened the tent, and was ready to duck inside, he snatched her arm quickly, successfully preventing her from retreating.

“Frederick, we can… we can discuss this in the morning, alright? I clearly am not thinking straight and should call it a night,” Robin stuttered out, not wanting to receive a scolding from who she assumed was a very upset Frederick. Little did she know that that was not on his mind. 

Without a word, he pulled her towards him once more and crashed his lips against hers. Her eyes widened at first but they closed slowly to savor the moment. Maybe they were both just too upset with the events of the day and were not thinking clearly or it was because they had wanted this for so long, but they quickly lost themselves in the kiss. It was as if this was the solution to their pain and they could not stop themselves. It did not take long for the kiss to deepen. While their mouths were still locked with one another, Frederick pushed them both into her tent, being the only one that seemed to remember that someone could walk out and see them. 

Inside the tent, they began removing articles of armor and clothing, completely lost in the heat of the moment. They were no longer thinking clearly and were just letting it all happen. This was the only thing that drowned the relentless doubt and guilt in their minds… and they both desperately wanted to silence the thoughts that plagued them all day. It was not long until they were both on the cot, with Frederick leaning over Robin while their hands roamed over each other’s bodies. “Robin…” Frederick muttered quietly, grabbing her undivided attention, his eyes reflecting a question in that Robin was more than happy to answer. 

As he entered her, she moaned out his name, fists clenching the blankets of her cot to keep herself grounded. Frederick in turn let out a small grunt, allowing her body to adjust to him for a moment since she had flinched at first and all her muscles had contracted. Once he was sure she was ready and her body relaxed, he began to thrust into her and it did not take long for him to lose himself. It was hard to keep their voices down at how amazing it all was. His caresses here and there, her pleasured moans, the kisses they shared and placed on their bodies… it was all too much to bare.

His lips moved then, forming the words that said ‘Robin’, but the voice was not his… In fact it sounded a lot like—

\---

“Robin, are you alright? Perhaps I should have been more discreet with the news…” a rather feminine voice said quietly. It was then that Robin blinked and seemed to realize that she was in the infirmary tent, facing Libra and not in her tent with Frederick. Why was she here again?

“Huh?” was the only thing that Robin managed to say as she pulled herself out of what had been her memory. “Oh! Um… yes, I’m alright…”

Libra stared at her for the longest time before he sighed and eyed her worriedly. She was acting strange and seemed to grow quite distant when he asked her a simple question. Did something happen?? Something… horrible? “Oh Naga…” he gasped quietly, taking her hand carefully in his. “Was it… was it forced?” he asked suddenly. It had to be the only reason why she looked so distressed, right? Then again it could be the news he just delivered to her.

Robin took a good minute to understand what it was that he was implying. “What was…?” she asked at first before it dawned on her. “By the gods, no!” she exclaimed, blushing bright red. “It was completely consensual, I can assure you.” 

“Oh… I was simply concerned… You did not answer me when I asked when it was that you think it may have happened and I, unfortunately, assumed the worst,” Libra explained awkwardly, most likely feeling foolish for jumping to conclusions. But one can never be too careful… especially in a war camp. 

It was then that Robin remembered what was happening. She had been feeling quite awful for the past several weeks and had gone to Libra for a diagnosis and possible treatment, mostly because Chrom insisted that she should. It was here that Libra delivered the news she had not been expecting…

She was with child… and she knew exactly whose it was. And because she knew who it was, it made her all the more nervous and anxious.

“It’s… it’s alright, Libra. I was simply trying to remember when it happened,” Robin assured. She would have been fairly amused over Libra’s words… if the topic at hand was not so serious. 

The news caused her great distress because when morning came, Frederick sincerely apologized for his behavior. He blamed himself for not being able to hold back and that he never had intended to do such a thing to her. Robin foolishly thought that they would have ended up together after the…eventful night, but it seemed that Frederick regretted everything. It had torn her apart. But of course she did not let it show and simply agreed that they had just gotten caught in the moment after an hour of explaining… And also that they were not thinking clearly with the events of the previous day.

So they returned to how they used to be… professional comrades. Robin’s heart would ache every time she would see and speak to him, but she did not want to burden him with her feelings. He probably did not even like her like that, never mind love her. She was just starting to get over the pain of it all… until today. 

Libra nodded and sighed softly. “Do you know the father?” he asked then, to which she nodded in response. “…Is it supposed to be a secret relationship that nobody needs to know of?” he inquired then. He had never seen her being affectionate with any of the men in the camp… Sure, with Chrom, but he was already married to Sumia. Plus it was clear that they were only just close friends. 

“No, it’s not even a relationship unfortunately…” Robin sighed then, running a hand through her unusually unkempt, loose hair. “It was… an accident,” she said flatly, but Libra caught on immediately that it was not an accident… at least not to her. 

“What will you do?” he asked then not wanting to dig in any further. Clearly this was a rather sensitive topic to Robin. He was now looking for herbs that may appease her nausea, along with some that may numb her aches and pains. “Are you going to tell him?”

Robin paled at the thought. “…No… no it’s best we keep it to ourselves… The war is almost over, after all,” Robin offered with a small smile. 

It had been two months since Emmeryn’s sacrifice… Two months since she had her eventful night with Frederick, and also two months since they have been preparing to challenge King Gangrel. Thankfully his forces were greatly reduced thanks to Emmeryn and planning for the final battle made it all the more easier. They were just so close… weeks away from going on their final march… If news of the child were to spread around camp, things might be held off… And she did not want that to happen.

The first priority right now was the war… and once they were done here, she could worry about her current situation…


	2. Keeping The Secret

Frederick hated himself. 

For two months he absolutely despised himself. All he ever thought about was that unfortunate day with Robin… And it were not so much the night and the activities themselves that made him mad, but more what happened the morning after… 

He was appalled over his behavior and apologized to Robin that very morning… All because he thought she probably had no feelings for him like he did with her and that it could all have been forced. He was a knight and as a knight, he should not have these despicable urges… especially towards a woman he is not even married to. Also because he was worried he would put strain on the relationship they took months to build… But he came to the even more painful, sudden realization a bit too late. It was not forced. Robin was not upset with him that morning… No, she was happy almost… Until he opened his mouth and apologized. By the gods the way her expression died in an instant when he apologized. An apology was not something she had been expecting out of it.

Sure he still had no idea if Robin did like him back, considering neither of them expressed their feelings for one another clearly with words but… if Robin did not like him, she would not have been so content the morning of, right? And the kiss! She had kissed him first! It could not have been because they were both mutually upset and not in their right minds like he claimed it had been about… Gods… He was pretty sure now that she did share the same feelings for him as he did with her, but he was- as much as he hated to admit it- scared to be wrong about his assumption. Perhaps it really was just her trying to drown out the voices in her head by doing something as crazy as kissing him… and then sleeping with him… This was all so confusing for him. Never in his life had he been plagued by such uncertainty.

With these thoughts that plagued him for the past two months in mind, he sighed and went back to his duties. They would distract him and make him forget about his regrets… and keep him from coming into contact with Robin. He just could not bring himself to look her in the eyes after what he had done to her… No. He should stop there before his mind goes back to the issue. His duty was with the royal family, there was no need to worry about these trivial matters of his. The siblings’ lives were more important to him than his own happiness.

But then again the strain to their relationship that he so badly wanted to avoid ended up happening. Of course it did. Now every time he came into contact with Robin, she would behave oddly. She seemed more distant and hesitant to speak to him. It was almost as if being around him brought painful memories to her. He tried to ignore it and brush it off as stress from the battle they had been carefully planning for the longest two months anyone had ever had so far, but a part of him knew that it was not the case. 

He could not keep this up. This uncertainty and unease in his heart would serve him little in his life. He was already waking up five minutes later than usual! It was unforgivable! All he had to do was talk to her and all of this would be fixed… but when would be the right time? Right now they were all too busy and stressed with preparations so clearly it is not the best time. Plus the chances of a Shepherd or a soldier stumbling upon them having the issue would be an absolute nightmare. Unless he waited for until the war was over… Yes, that would seem to be the most appropriate time to do this. He would talk to her properly once the war was over and everything was calmer. 

With his new found resolve, his worries left him in an instant. Yes, that is right. He will clear up the air between them once the war was over and his lord and lady were safely back at the castle. For now, he could focus on his duties and prepare the soldiers for the coming battle. 

Speaking of… everyone was busy stocking up weapons and training for said battle. They have come to the agreement that they would go after Gangrel in the coming week and just about everyone was on edge and dead set on defeating the Mad King. Watching everyone working as hard as they were made even someone as stoic as him smile. It quickly left his features once he thought about them not having this much enthusiasm during his training sessions… But he would let it slide. For now. The determination and motivation of all the soldiers was absolutely contagious and with Robin’s guidance, they would surely win. 

Returning back to the topic of Robin, she seemed to have been feeling a little ill as of late. The whole camp had caught on to her illness. It was hard not to when she would excuse herself mid war council to vomit whatever contents were in her stomach. Everyone assumed that maybe she was just under a lot of pressure but after a few days of it occurring, everyone feared she had caught something.

\---

Everyone would surely be pleased to know that she was not sick with a virus… but unfortunately that would have to be the excuse to play at the moment. Robin would not, for the life of her, tell anyone about her surprise pregnancy. The war would be postponed otherwise and in the next 7 months, Gangrel might gather his forces again. It was just too much of a risk! It was better to just… risk it and bring peace than let this war continue on… besides, it’s not like anyone but her are aware of the baby… A part of her, deep in the darkest recesses of her mind, told her to just get rid of it, but she would not- could not do such thing. She already loved and cherished her baby for the past couple hours she had known it and would make sure that in this battle she would not get hit with any of the enemy’s attacks… Which was easier said than done but she was known to do the impossible! Just… it was hard to do the impossible when she felt rather sick and tired almost every day…

Thankfully Libra’s herbal concoctions settled her morning sickness and prevented her from vomiting as often as she had… she would sometimes vomit but she would make sure that nobody was around if she really was going to. Hopefully her morning sickness will not kick in when she’s in the middle of battle… Then again it could work to her advantage. Think about it. Her suddenly vomiting on an enemy might just be enough of a distraction to get the upper hand.

She was busy warming herself up by the campfire, drinking some warm tea to boot. The nights had been quite chilly and she would wake up freezing; as if she had been sleeping outside completely in the nude kind of freezing. She had noted how nobody seemed to be suffering from the chill as much as she was and began fearing that maybe it was part of the pregnancy… and if that was the case, she needed to make sure nobody knew just how cold she felt. Lingering by the campfire was not all that suspicious considering it was still a little chilly at the… not exactly morning hour that she would wake up in. She could act as if she had little resistance to the cold if anyone questioned her, no harm done. 

Mid sip of her tea, Vaike came crashing through the campfire, making her choke on the tea and cough it up violently. This was not what she had expected to find so early in the morning… well early for her that is. She narrowed her eyes and glanced towards the direction he came from and raised an eyebrow at none other than Sully. 

“Really?” Robin demanded, setting her tea down as she tried to recover from almost dying for a moment there. 

“Oh shit, sorry,” Sully muttered as she went over and pulled Vaike up to his feet before the man would burn himself any more than he had. “Didn’t think he’d roll through the fire pit like that.”

“Throwing him over your shoulder tends to have such outcomes,” Robin sighed out, rubbing her temple. “You alright, Vaike?” 

“A little burn ain’t gonna stop Vaike!” he proclaimed as cheerily as he usually did, laughing slightly. Though it was clear he had some rather nasty burns on him, much to Robin’s dismay.

“…Go to the infirmary.”

“But-“ 

“Your burns will get infected and what use will you be in battle then, Vaike?” Robin challenged as she stared the shirtless man down. He would not have gotten as hurt as he did if he bothered to wear a damn shirt for once in his life. 

Thankfully, her reasoning won and he went over to the infirmary as he was told, followed by Sully to explain how he got burned in the first place. Not a minute passed before she could hear Maribelle fussing at them for their reckless and brutish behavior. Robin decided to get up and put out the fire before it could spread and set the whole camp ablaze. No need to listen to the scolding the two were getting. 

“Well that’s certainly one way to get the morning started,” Chrom mused as he approached her. He helped clean up the mess and made sure there were no embers left before he relaxed once more and stared at her. “How are you feeling?” he inquired with that bright and friendly smile that he always had. 

Robin sighed once again, shook her head, and wrapped her arms around herself in response to his first statement. There was never a dull day in camp, that’s for sure. “Hmm… better actually,” she answered, returning the smile. “Got a small cold is all. Libra gave me some medicine that may help it pass. I should be well in a day or two,” she lied as perfectly as she could, not wanting to worry him. 

“Really? Well that’s a relief,” he sighed out, placing a hand on her shoulder. “I don’t think we could win this battle without you, my friend.” 

“I’m sure you could,” she mused, grinning slightly as she moved away from the destroyed campfire, intending to go for a walk before she would focus on anything else for the day. 

Chrom laughed lightly and shook his head. “Maybe we could but we would be losing many soldiers and friends,” he pointed out with a small chuckle to which Robin returned. He sure was not the best at strategies  
that was for sure. 

He followed beside her, surveying the camp as he did. He was impressed everyone was busy with something and seemed focused for once. It almost made him want to go and train… as far away from camp as possible before he destroys something that is. They walked in comfortable silence for a while; Robin easing into her new life where she has to come up with sorry lies to hide the fact that she was with child. It made it wasn’t as hard as she thought it would be… Maybe she was just a damn good liar. Chrom’s usual cluelessness- Naga bless his soul- made it all the more easy for her as well. 

“We will be having another council later tonight to make sure we did not leave out vulnerabilities that the Mad King can exploit,” Robin spoke up then, bringing Chrom’s attention back to her. She knew they were all probably sick and tired of having so many war councils… considering they have been planning this for almost three months now, but one could never be too careful. And for once in her life, Robin was unsure of her strategy due to the scale of the battle… Plus having a previous strategy fail as badly as it did two months ago added to her uncertainty. 

Chrom sighed and nodded. “I am sure your strategy has no faults in it, Robin, but alright. I will send word when the time is near,” he answered with a small smile. 

“Captai- I mean Chrom!” Sumia called from their left, holding up a pie that she had probably been up all morning preparing… at Naga knows what hour of the morning that was. Robin did not know how everyone could be up and about so early; it was such a foreign concept to her. Sumia was still trying to break the habit of calling Chrom captain but she was getting there. Robin preferred ‘captain’ over ‘my love’ though. It was weird to her in a way. “I made you some pie!” 

Chrom’s expression almost made Robin burst out laughing. Poor guy was getting tired of getting so many pies… How did she even find the time and resources to make them in a war camp anyway? Some questions were better left unanswered. 

“I think you should talk to her,” Robin giggled next to him, to which Chrom sighed in response. He had told her about the pie misfortunes before and it was never not funny. Plus she got pie. 

“I should probably do that…” he grumbled as he went over to his lovely fiancé/wife. Robin knew he wouldn’t really confront her. She was just too sweet and he could not bring himself to tell her no… All he really needed to say was that she did not need to bake him pie so often… and probably tell her recipes that he actually liked. 

Robin was alone once more and felt like she could breathe. Her body didn’t ache as much as it did the other day but she still made sure she wasn’t showing any sign of discomfort. The herbs could only do so much… She had even glanced at her reflection before leaving her tent to make sure she didn’t already have a protruding belly… which she thankfully didn’t. In another month or two she most likely starts to show…  
This war needed to come to an end already so she could hide it better…

What then though? What would she do after the war? She would have to go up to Frederick and tell him that she carried his child but how would he react? Would he demand that she get rid of the child? Will he never talk to her again? These thoughts alone kept her from interacting with Frederick about the issue that she had just learned about… She could not bear the thought of Frederick being nice for so long only to turn against her in an instant. No… She was being ridiculous. Frederick would never do that. He would probably take responsibility and help raise the child even if he did not want to be with her. For some reason, that thought distressed her greatly. She did not want him to be with her just because she had his child. She wanted him to stay with her because he loved her, not for this… 

And what would everyone in Ylisstol even think when they hear about her claiming that she has his child? The endless rumors and name calling would never end! Frederick’s reputation would be destroyed and it would be all her fault! She was just some amnesiac strategist for the Shepherds, nothing more. Her reputation, if she had one that is, did not even matter to her! Frederick though? He has probably worked years to build up his reputation and be the man that he is today. 

“I cannot do this to him,” she muttered out-loud to herself, eyes narrowed in deep concentration as she played all the possible scenarios in her head about Frederick’s ultimate downfall. To put it simply: they were all bad outcomes. 

“Cannot do what to whom?” Gaius’s comment broke her out of her thoughts and she almost screamed when she saw the man standing right in front of her- when the hell did he even get there- slurping on some lollipop he had stuck in his mouth minutes before it seemed. “I am intrigued, Bubbles… Some juicy gossip?” 

Robin glared at the male and huffed, crossing her arms as she glanced away from him in embarrassment. “It’s nothing! And you should really not pop up so suddenly like that. You might get hurt,” she muttered awkwardly, trying to collect herself. 

“I didn’t,” Gaius defended himself as carefree as he usually did. “I was here all this time and you walked towards me and never even noticed. Now tell me, Bubbles,” he started as he pulled out the lollipop with a loud ‘pop’ out of his mouth to add more of a dramatic flair to the situation. “What’s on your mind?” 

Robin stared at the thief for the longest time. She was tempted to snatch the damn lollipop from him and eat the damn thing herself… It was too much for a pregnant woman like herself. No she must collect herself… but gods she wanted it. “Thinking about the strategy and where I’m going to have everyone be stationed for the fight,” she said as point blank as possible to make him forget about the situation altogether. 

Gaius clearly didn’t believe her but he shrugged, not caring enough to know about what it was. “Keep telling yourself that, Bubbles… But whatever it is, it must be something big,” he mused with a small smirk as he started walking away, albeit in a hurry and glancing over her shoulder quickly. “Later!” 

Why was he scurrying off so quickly all of the sudden when he had been so keen on asking before? It was as if he had seen a ghost or something—

“I have the vaguest feeling that he runs at the sight of me,” said Frederick as he had appeared out of nowhere with stacks of lances in his arms that he intended to store. “’Evening, Robin,” he said as coolly as ever. If only she knew that on the inside his heart was hammering in his chest. Here was the one person he did not want to come into contact with and initiate small talk with. He could have just walked past her but that would have been incredibly rude and would have made their relationship worse. But gods damn it all this was harder than any battle he has ever been through.

Robin made a face at him when he said ‘evening’. She really needed to consider waking up earlier… “Is it so late in the day already?” she muttered, trying to stay as calm as possible but she really just wanted to glare daggers at him. She felt incredibly used now that she thought about it. He just went and got her pregnant and then left… Though neither of them thought such an outcome would come of it but still! He just has the nerve to come up and talk as if nothing ever happened between them. The biggest, most important day in her life happened that night and it was all ruined by Frederick! The very man she loved so much that it hurt. 

“That it is, milady,” he trailed off then, staring off in the direction that he had intended on heading over to deliver the lances. “If I may be so bold as to ask, what will you be doing today?” he questioned when he realized the atmosphere was starting to get awkward between them once more. He hated that so much… Before they could talk about the most pointless things… say perhaps debating on the species of bird that’s flying overhead or about how hot it is in Plegia. Now it was just a ‘hey’ and a little chatter before they would part ways… Oh he had screwed up so much but now was not the time. They needed to focus on the war and not on their petty problems. 

If only Frederick knew that the problem was no petty matter to Robin. To her, it was technically her first time considering she did not remember anything about her past. She had no idea if she had multiple partners before in her life and if she had done it before because she could not remember! It had been a whole new experience for her! And on top of that she ended up pregnant; she was just angry and distressed over it all, maybe even a little hormonal.

“Going over the strategy to make sure there are no faults in it- and before you even say it: yes again,” Robin replied quickly, not wanting to drabble on about this any longer… Plus it was weird seeing him there with an armful of lances just standing around and not taking them to their proper destination… and she also just wanted to scream at him, which would not be good for either of them.

“Ah,” Frederick muttered in response. He was picking up on her wanting to be alone now and thought it would be a good idea to leave her to her thoughts. The war must really be taking a toll on her… at least he hoped it was the war. “Then I should best leave you to it; time wasted is a life that could potentially be at stake,” he said quickly as he gave her a curt nod and continued on to his original destination without another word. It was just too much for him and her not wanting him around made him incredibly uncomfortable.

Robin was thankful that he cut the conversation short and turned on her heel and went the opposite direction. She did not want another awkward encounter with him. It had barely been an hour or two after she woke up and she felt as though everyone wanted to talk to her for the day. It was quite frankly exhausting. Retreating back to her tent to recalculate her strategy seemed to be the best idea she’s had in days. With that in mind, she hurried back in the direction from whence she came from before anyone else could stop her. 

Her interaction with Frederick did not go unnoticed by a certain blonde haired princess. She scrunched up her nose in thought, wondering what could have possibly occurred between the two that put such a strain in their once pleasant friendship. 

“Isn’t it a little odd that Robin used to be good friends with Frederick and all of the sudden their relationship seems strained?” Lissa wondered out-loud, glancing over at Virion who happened to be next to her talking about the importance of well polished armor and a clean outfit after she had gotten her boots extremely muddy and he insisted on polishing them for her. 

He stopped midsentence as he glanced back in the direction he had briefly glimpsed Robin heading in. “Whatever do you mean? A lover’s quarrel, mayhap?” he offered and completely forgot about the shoes, now interested in the topic at hand. 

Lissa almost burst out laughing at the thought. Frederick and Robin?? Frederick of all people?! There was just no way! He was just too unromantic to be in anything like a romantic relationship… then again Robin was odd herself. But it would make sense. If Lissa were to do a timeline, Frederick had little trust in Robin whatsoever and Robin seemed to be just as weary of him in the beginning, then they somehow got to talking- she assumed from training- and they began to be more comfortable around each other, after that they were completely relaxed around each other and would even jest with one another… or was it flirting? And now all of that trust was tossed out a window and they were once more at odds. Maybe Virion was on to something here…

“It could be!” she exclaimed in response, trying to think about any occurrences between the two that may have been a little more than friendship. Now that she thought about it, almost everything that they used to do had a tint of flirting or romantic notions. Like the few times Frederick went out of his way to protect Robin from an oncoming attack, the times where Robin would grin from ear to ear when she saw Frederick and how he too would return the smile with one of his own, Robin picking on him in a playful manner about something she never got a chance to hear about that would annoy Frederick but he never really snapped at her… and many more situations. 

With a small gasp, she glanced at Virion at last. “I think you’re right, Virion! They had been incredibly close as of late, a little too close I would say!” 

Virion was only making a suggestion that was more of a light jest but now that he too thought about it, he could see it. “Well… This is most interesting… Perhaps one of them decided to make the other jealous by being around someone else? I have heard of such a tactic to spice up one’s romance! The jealousy, the anger, the denial! It is just the perfect plan to-“ 

Before he could finish, Lissa cut him off. “That sounds like a horrible plan!” she cried out, making a face at him. Virion really was terrible with romance! “Besides, I see neither Frederick nor Robin pulling such underhanded tactics! I bet it had more to do with Frederick’s duties,” she concluded with a small huff. “He does too much for his own good! He literally does not know how to relax!” And she would know! She tried to teach him how to do so!

And the conversation dragged on between the two as they tried to figure out what could possibly be causing the discrepancy. It eventually came down to an idea to figure out what exactly happened. Lissa would go after Frederick and find out what had happened while Virion would go for Robin. Surely one of them would let something slip! This plan would surely work!

Meanwhile in the tent nearby, Robin sneezed loudly and almost spilled the ink bottle on the table that could have potentially ruined the plan she had been working on restlessly for days… Something told her she did not want to step outside the tent for the rest of the day for her own sake.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> wooop i had this one written out for a while so you guys are lucky to get two chapters so soon ;D I will probably take a week or two to write the third chapter if i get too caught up with my art haha 
> 
> I apologize for the senseless drabble of a chapter but it can't be all action every chapter, ya know~? 
> 
> And ooh boy. What tactics will Virion and Lissa use to get the secret out of them? And would they even work?? And Frederick needs someone to kick his butt into gear :')
> 
> -struggles to understand AO3's layout-


	3. A Troubled Knight and Tactician

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I apologize for the jumbled mess -sob-

“The strategy is as sound as ever, Robin,” Chrom commented as calmly as he could, not wanting to point out that it was exactly the same strategy they have been discussing for what felt like the one-hundredth time.

“Yes but now I am sure that I have run all possible, unrealistic scenarios that could potentially happen in this battle… That includes Risen,” Robin proclaimed with a huff, a small blush on her cheeks. It was true that the strategy was exactly the same as before, but still! 

Chrom simply sighed and stared at his friend. He could tell she was extremely uncomfortable with her plans. But he didn’t really blame her. She probably still felt insecure with what had happened with Emmeryn’s rescue… Not that it was her fault; nobody ever blamed her for it. For once during the whole war, Chrom felt like maybe they really were putting too much stress on Robin. She was one human and as great as a tactician as she was, she still made human mistakes and he could tell she was terrified of making one. Now that they have been surprised before though, he was sure that there was no stone left unturned in Robin’s new plan. She would be ready for anything and everything this time and they too would be just as prepared. 

“Even if something unexpected were to happen, we’ll all be prepared to handle it and react accordingly! Even if it means retreating,” Stahl added with a slight goofy grin. 

“Yeah! We used to get around with crap strategies all the time before you came around, Robin! No one will die this time around. I will make sure of that!” Lissa exclaimed, trying to boost Robin’s confidence a little. Though it seemed as though she might have hurt her brother’s feelings… Well his strategies were pretty reckless. “This strategy cannot possibly fail!”

“And so will I, Robin dear,” Maribelle proclaimed then, smiling to herself. “Your strategy is sound and dare I say flawless,” she praised with the usual air of dignity she had. 

“Yeah! Don’t worry yourself so much, Robin! We are capable of taking care of ourselves if things go disarray,” Ricken spoke up, pushing his hat back from his face which had slipped down and blocked his view momentarily.

Robin felt a little reassured by everyone’s words of encouragement but she still felt insecure. If she screws up again, would they ever even look at her in the eyes again? Would they speak of her with such praise ever again? This plan could not fail… Or she would not be able to live with herself.

“There is only one other person that I trust other than myself with the life of milord and milady,” Frederick started off quietly, everyone quieting down upon hearing his assertive voice in the middle of a discussion. “And that person is Robin. I have no doubt that she would no sooner lay down her life for the sake of everyone else’s if anything were to go wrong in her strategy…” 

Everyone stood there stunned, staring at the scene before them. Frederick was praising Robin’s skills. Frederick the Wary, the one who had little to no trust in Robin whatsoever in the beginning, was praising her. Even Gaius almost choked on his candy with how shocked he was. He had heard plenty about Frederick’s intense dislike of Robin when they had first met her. Robin simply stared at Frederick for a moment, wondering if he was making fun of her between the lines or something of the sort, but she could find no fault in his words. Gods damn him and his sweet words… She wanted to not love him anymore but here she was, wanting to throw her arms around him and thank him endlessly, maybe even confess but no. She has already been hurt by him… She could not let her guard down. 

Chrom grinned slightly and nudged Robin. “See, even Frederick the Wary has faith in you. Have some in yourself, Robin. This will work out perfectly and this war will soon be over,” he reassured her as everyone else agreed to his words, trying to encourage her further. 

Robin glanced back down at the map before her, her brow furrowed in concentration. They were right… There was nothing wrong with her strategy. No matter what scenarios she threw at it, nothing would ever change. It was a sound strategy… and even then, as Ricken and Stahl said, they were capable of handling themselves and changing the strategy as they see fit… and if she was still breathing, she would come up with a new strategy on the spot to help… 

“Looks like this war will be over in a few days,” Robin muttered at last, glancing up at everyone before she smiled brightly. She felt much more confident in herself then thanks to everyone’s words of encouragement. 

The whole tent erupted in cheers, everyone ready and willing to head right into the field of battle in that very moment. One could throw them in the middle of an ambush and they would still be grinning from ear to ear, ready to take on the odds and dare she say… tip the scales in their favor. 

\----

Once the “one-hundredth strategy meeting” ended, Robin emerged from the tent with a small content sigh. She was the last one to leave since she wanted to make sure she was the one to stash away the map and the strategy because she trusted no one else… maybe Frederick but he would tidy up the whole tent and she would have no idea where anything was anymore. She was fond of orderly messes… at least she knew where her things were. 

Speaking of Frederick… she supposed it would be a good idea to talk to him and thank him for his words… They really brought her out of her dark thoughts back there… But gods how would she even strike up a conversation with him? She had been avoiding him for so long that she had no idea how to speak to him… The few times they spoke it was him that initiated small talk. Maybe that is what she has to do… just chat with him like old times. 

With that in mind, she set out to find said male, feeling quite anxious about it. Why was she? She used to tease him and poke fun at him so often and now… now she could hardly talk to him or meet his gaze most of the time. Was she ashamed for letting herself go so easily with him? Or was she angry with him for what he did to her? She could not understand what she truly felt at the moment about what had happened; it was all just a jumbled mess… She should just focus on her current situation which is thanking him for his encouragement and not think about that. Yes, that was it. No need to think about that night and the baby she had in her womb because of it… just talk to him. 

It did not take her long to find him considering his usually predictable pattern. There he was in a field a few feet from camp training like always around this time of the night. She assumed it might help his mind shut off for the night and help him sleep easier in his tent. Come to think of it, has she ever seen him sleeping before? Ah, she had when they had first met and they ended up camping out in the field and had their delicious bear meat dinner. The memory made her smile slightly; she had no idea he had such a strong aversion to bear meat back then. Times sure did change. 

She entered the field slowly and mentally prepared herself to initiate contact. She could do this… Just like old times. “Hey,” she said loudly enough that he heard her over his lance slamming into the trunk of a tree. She felt foolish almost instantly. What a way to start a conversation! She could have started with how he was doing or something! Heck even complimented his ass would have started somethi—oh gods what was she thinking? No, complimenting his ass would definitely not be a good conversation starter. Why did she even think about that?

Frederick turned to look at her, a bit surprised that she had gone to see him. She had barely ever talked to him as of late. She must be really ill like they all suspected she was. Come to think of it, no one seemed to know what was wrong with her and she had apparently already seen Libra earlier in the day…

“Yes?” he questioned, wondering what she was here for. “Do you require assistance with something?” he added as he placed his lance down and turned to give his full attention to her. 

She was rather tempted to say ‘help me raise your child’ to his question but she held back. “Um… No, afraid not,” she answered awkwardly as she struggled to find the words to talk to him.

Seeing her there seeming to be conflicted with something concerned him greatly. Maybe she was hiding something dire? Was she sick with something deadly? Did her strategy have some dark side to it that she was too afraid to bring up and that was why she had been so anxious about it? Or… it was just him? Maybe he had been the whole problem all this time and he refused to acknowledge it fully. Maybe talking to her once the war was over was not the best idea and speaking to her now about this would settle his unease about it all. Was it the war that made her this way, or was it him? That question had plagued him long enough and he needed an answer.

“If… If this is about that day-,” Frederick started awkwardly but quickly cut himself short when he saw the look of utter distress and hurt in her eyes. Maybe now was definitely not the right time like he might have thought. He quickly glanced at the ground and frowned deeply. “Forgive me, Robin… I did not mean-“ 

“It’s not that,” Robin said quickly, not wanting to discuss this any further. All she wanted to do was thank him and that was it. She did not want to go down this road again. “I understand it was all an incident anyway, no need to remind me,” she added a little too harshly towards the end. 

Frederick almost flinched at the tone her voice took at the discussion of that night. So that had truly upset her much more than she had let on then… Oh he felt like such a fool. He had hurt her and he had refused to acknowledge it. “Robin that is not-“ he tried again in an attempt to ease her mind but she quickly shook her head. 

“Frederick,” Robin cut him off once again, her eyes narrowed as she held back the urge to yell at him and vent about how she really felt and all that he had done to her emotionally… and physically but no, she could not do this. Not now. “I did not come here for this discussion…” she trailed off as she struggled to reign herself back in. 

He simply stared at her for a moment before sighing softly. He ran a hand through his hair and glanced off towards the camp to make sure no one was listening. He needed to clear this up but it was clear she was beginning to become upset over the discussion. It would do them little to get into an argument a few days before they march into a war that they could both lose their lives in if their minds are not in the right place. 

“I see,” he said instead, even though he desperately wanted to let her know that he regretted what he did in the morning and that he had lied. 

He had lied about how he felt that day. He was confused and afraid about what could have been after that fateful day. He had never really loved someone else as much as he loved Robin and he was utterly lost and confused. He could not simply just talk to someone about his feelings… No… The only person he trusted with secrets was Robin and she… well she was the source of his distress. He did not even know if what he felt was truly love and not just lust. Was the tightness in his chest whenever he saw her love? The intense feeling of wanting to hold her and protect her from all harm love? He was just so afraid that he may be wrong and end up hurting her more than he had already… 

“I wanted to thank you,” she finally said as she found the words and courage to tell him. “For what you said back there… I was truly losing faith in myself and your words really just… helped. So thank you,” she finished and let out a quiet sigh. There. She did it. It was over and done with. 

Frederick was tempted to say that he had hurt her more than helped her over the past couple months but he withheld the thought. After the war. It was the only time he felt it would be right to bring about the topic at hand… At least if they are both consumed by emotions, they will not be in any life threatening battle any time soon and can focus on their emotional health. 

“Ah,” he started as he straightened himself and smiled a little at her, wanting to keep her at ease after the earlier altercation. “I meant every word. You are an exceptional tactician and a great friend,” he said firmly, trying to get it across to her one last time. 

Robin stared at Frederick for a moment before she returned the smile. “Thank you, Frederick… I will make sure to remind myself that when I am not feeling like myself,” she responded to him slightly and glanced at the ground again, avoiding his gaze. If she stared into his eyes any longer, she feared she would melt and tell him every little thing that had been bothering her… including the baby. 

“I suppose I should head back now,” she said quietly, now glancing back towards camp. “I should get my rest or else I fear I will not wake up in time for breakfast tomorrow,” she mused and waited for his response. 

“That would be rather unfortunate if you slept through breakfast,” he chuckled softly in response. “I bid you goodnight, Robin.” 

“Goodnight, Frederick,” she sighed out, relieved that nothing managed to escalate in their discussion and that she managed to keep her secret from him. She then turned and headed back into camp, already lost in her thoughts once more. 

“Robin,” Frederick’s voice stopped her before she could get any farther into camp and she turned to look at him questioningly, but he had his back turned to her.

“What is it?” she asked, hoping it had nothing to do with the earlier discussion. 

“About what I said in council… I would lay down my own life first before I allow you to end yours if anything were to go wrong in the strategy.”

Robin did not respond to him. She was too stunned to even find the right words to reply with anyway. The tears welled up in her eyes almost instantly. Why would he ever consider doing such a thing for her? Never once did she think Frederick would ever sacrifice himself for her of all people… She could see him doing such an act for Chrom and Lissa but never once did she think he would do such a thing for her; the amnesiac tactician that they happened to stumble upon in a field and dragged along in their adventures… well misadventures maybe. 

She turned back around and scurried back into camp before she let the tears spill over. Thankfully most of everyone were in their tents readying themselves for the night so they did not get to witness her dashing across the camp and into her tent to hide. Once she made it, she collapsed onto the canvas flooring of the tent and covered her face in her hands, trying to hold back her sobs as the tears spilled over. 

Every time she tried to get over him, something would happen that made her love him more than she already did. She had been so angry with him for two months and now everything was starting to crumble away slowly. Maybe it was just her hormones making her emotional but gods she loved Frederick so much… she wanted to just run back and just confess everything… her love for him and his child which she had been carrying for almost three months… 

She dragged herself over to her cot and threw herself onto it, hands pressed against her still flat stomach as she cried quietly. How badly she wanted to confess but she was so frightened. Frightened with what would happen with her and her child. Did Frederick even love her? She had little to no evidence over this matter and if she were to confess, what were the chances of him rejecting her? Gods, how would he even react to having a child with her he probably did not want? Would he even be able to accept the idea that he was going to be a father? Could Frederick even find the time in his schedule to be a father?

She could not speak of this with him. She could ruin him… ruin his life… She would rather ruin her own life first before she would ruin anyone else’s. She had no life to live anyway. What would she even do after the war was over? She could not possibly intrude on Chrom’s life as the new Exalt… What place did she even have in the castle? Everyone else already had a life and a job they had built over the years back in Ylisstol and she… she had nothing… Well then again there’s Gaius and Lon’qu who had no place in Ylisstol but they still had lives that they used to live in before. She had no past to follow up on. All she had was this army and the war and the memories she had built with everyone. 

Robin could only lay claim to one thing that she knew would most likely be a constant in her life now. She had a child. That child could potentially live with her for years to come or perhaps even forever. Maybe that would be her future. She would make a life with her child that she will never know that she may have had before. The child would be her only constant and probably the only thing that would keep her grounded in the future whenever she feels lost and afraid. Her child’s goals will become her own and she will make sure that they have the best life she could ever provide for them.

And if Chrom ever needs her help in the future, she will be there always to assist in any way that she can… And who knows, maybe her child might end up helping Chrom too… or even his future children… 

\-----

Robin had no idea when she had fallen asleep that night. She had been plagued by so many thoughts that she did not think she would end up falling asleep… but she did. Through the tears and the anxiety she slept. Judging by the commotion outside, she probably slept well past morning and most likely missed breakfast; just what she needed.

With a groan she sat up in her cot and rubbed the sleep out of her eyes. She probably did not look her utmost best today… what with crying herself to sleep and all. She quickly prepared herself some of her medicine to control the nausea already building up in her throat and drank it as quickly as she could. She could not vomit what little nutrition she had gotten the day before considering she probably won’t have breakfast.

She checked herself in a mirror she had once she was done, and noted that her eyes really were puffy and red like she assumed and groaned once again. Great, now the questions would be endless. With a sigh she made herself look as presentable as she could before she emerged from the tent. 

Thankfully no one noticed her leaving her tent, they were once again caught up preparing for the war. They did have less than a week now to prepare so she did not blame them. Meanwhile she was more concerned as to whether there was any breakfast left to eat. It will do her no good if she’s not feeding herself right plus she’s risking her baby’s health as well! She really needed to wake up earlier. 

To her surprise, Frederick stood by the dinning tent. What was he even doing there? He was never around once he was awake and doing his chores. It would take someone an hour or more to find him… unless they were her then maybe thirty minutes. She did figure out his schedule after all. 

When Frederick noticed her, he moved from the tent and walked over to her. Robin at first tensed up, thinking that she would receive a lecture for waking up much later than she usually did, but then relaxed when she realized that his stare and his posture suggested no such thing. He was almost relieved?

“Ah there you are,” Frederick muttered, placing his hands behind his back like he usually did as he stared at her. He took a moment to collect his thoughts together once again when he saw her puffy, red eyes. His relaxed state went out the door then and he narrowed his eyes at her. “Robin, are you alright?” 

Robin blushed a little at his question and glanced at the ground for a moment. “Yes I’m fine, Frederick. Went to bed a little later than I intended,” she explained, which was not entirely a lie. She did fall asleep much later than she meant to but she looked like a mess due to her crying herself to sleep. 

Frederick wanted to believe her but a part of him said that she may be lying to him. In fact he felt like she was lying to him quite often these past couple months. If he would have still been wary of her, he would have become increasingly suspicious of her, but now he knew better than to question Robin sometimes. The woman hid her emotions as to not make others worry it seemed, something he understood well enough himself. She would speak her mind when she was ready, he was sure. 

“I see… Well I suspected you would sleep well past the morning hours,” he started immediately to change the topic, much to Robin’s relief, but now seemed to be making fun of her, much to her dismay. “That being said, I made sure that you would have a serving of breakfast and saved some for you before the others could eat it all.” 

Robin could not believe her ears. Did Frederick really save her some food? He never did such a thing for her… much less with anyone else either. She almost wanted to cry again out of gratitude considering that she was quite starved and thought she would have to wait hours for the next meal to be served. 

“Why would you do that?” she inquired then, her curiosity taking a hold of her. 

“I spoke to Lord Chrom about you and questioned if you were doing well,” he explained slowly, “and he informed me that you had caught a small cold.” 

Robin had completely forgotten the lie she told Chrom the day previously and let out an awkward laugh when she remembered that she told him that she was sick because of a cold and not a baby. 

“Were you concerned for my wellbeing that much?” she teased him, easing a smirk on her features when he stared point blankly at her. 

“Of course. It would do us little if our finest tactician is unwell for battle. If you are to get better faster, you need a steady, nutritious diet, as well as plenty of rest,” he finished his explanation as to why in all the hells he would go out of his way to make sure she had a meal that morning. 

Robin then smiled at him and nodded slowly. “Thank you, Frederick. That was very kind and considerate of you. Surely I will be better sooner than I thought I would with you helping,” she mused with a small grin as she gave his shoulder a pat. 

Frederick nodded and allowed her to move past him and into the dinning tent. He sighed once she was back inside and wondered if things were back to how they were before. They were talking quite freely with each other after last night after all, but then this could all be a ruse. Not to mention when he tried to speak about their… personal experience, she seemed hesitant and agitated to even speak a word about it, almost as if he was driving a knife into her chest with every word. Clearly something was still off in their relationship but neither of them seemed ready to discuss it; perhaps him more than she was. 

Surely it would upset any woman that their first time would be disregarded by the partner they had it with- Oh… He really was driving a knife into her chest then. How could he have been so blind? He knew all this time that people hate being used like that and what had he done to her? He used her! It was not his intention of course, he loved her in fact, but to her it seemed like he used her! Gods, no wonder she had kept away from him and appeared distant and hurt all this time! He _hurt_ her; hurt her in the worst possibly way there is out there.

“Gods you’re such an idiot,” Frederick muttered under his breath as he rubbed his temple. Thank the gods this war would be over in a few days because he really needed to clear the air with Robin and tell her everything! Even the most embarrassing, mortifying details that he had been trying to hide from her that day; that he, Frederick, the one that almost everyone considered to be the bravest knight in camp, had been afraid of the what could have been. That he did not know how to love or what love even was for that matter… just everything. This vulnerable honesty might be the only thing that could potentially ease her pain and even then he doubted she could look him in the eye again… She might even be furious after it and never forgive hi-

“Who’s an idiot?” Lissa interrupted his spiraling thoughts as she walked up to him. “You look quite troubled I would say… Have you been relaxing at all like I taught you?” she teased, trying to get any sort of reaction out of him, but it seemed she only succeeded in startling him out of his thoughts. 

“Milady,” Frederick greeted almost immediately as he tried to compose himself. “I was simply muttering to myself, no need to concern yourself. But I do regret to say that I have done very little with what you consider to be relaxing.” 

Lissa let out a sigh and shook her head. “Figures, Frederick,” she muttered but then remembered her mission for the day. She needed to distract him and try to get any juicy details out of him about his relationship with Robin. Had they truly been in a relationship behind everyone’s backs? Were they currently in a dispute? She needed to know. “Anyway I was wondering if you could help me with something!” 

Frederick smiled the usual smile and straightened his back a little more. “Certainly, milady. What is it that you require assistance with?” 

“Well you see…” she began to explain as she took his arm and dragged him away from the dinning tent, with a goal to get him as far from camp as she could. 

Virion watched the interaction from a few feet away and breathed in deeply. And so began their operation… He just needed to wait until Robin emerged from the tent and then he would drag her away to question her as well. This plan would work, he was sure of it!


	4. A plan set in motion

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Spent all day writing this! I hope you guys like it because I had fun writing it lol had to ask a friend of mine that knows french(albeit from Quebec) for some advice because i know squat french lmao I know spanish and a little german and that's it 
> 
> well hopefully AO3 doesn't mess up the chapter notes like it did with the first chapter -shakes head-

“Ah, chère Robin!” Virion exclaimed as Robin at last emerged from the tent, looking content to have had some food in her belly for the day. 

Her content demeanor diminished when she heard Virion’s classic French flattery. “Ah… Virion,” she started evenly, eyeing him carefully to see if she could tell what it was that he wanted. As usual, she had little to no idea what the man had in his mind this time. “Is there something wrong?” 

“Not at all! Everything’s just fantastic but let me just say that you, my dear Robin, êtes aussi ravissante que jamais!" he proclaimed as flamboyantly as ever. (A/N: are as lovely as ever)

Robin had no clue what it was he just said to her but she assumed it must be some of his usual sweet talk that he blurted out to just about anyone with legs and a pretty face. “Er… thanks?” 

“Of course! A woman as belle as yourself must be reminded daily of the fact!” he added, taking her hand in his and giving it a gentle kiss for good measure. 

Robin slowly pulled her hand back and held it against her chest, a wary expression on her features. “Alright, Virion… What is it that you want?” she asked, finding his behavior a little more odd than usual. He had never been this flamboyant with her before. 

“Why I was hoping you would join me for another game of chess! It’s been far too long!” he explained himself as smoothly as possible. At least his behavior had caught her attention enough to linger around him a while longer. Things would not have worked out if Robin had been trying to escape from him from the start.

Robin stared long and hard at Virion. She was seriously wondering if someone might have beaten him upside the head with something earlier that morning. But she could not bring herself to say no to him. She loved playing chess with him. He was quite the challenging opponent after all, and maybe playing some chess may make her forget about her situation and remind her of… simpler times. Plus Virion’s flattering words were quite interesting to hear… if not pathetic. 

“I don’t see why not… But only for one match,” Robin agreed after much debate within herself. “We do have a war to prepare for after all. We can’t spend the whole day playing chess.” 

“Right you are, my dear! Let’s see if you can beat me once more,” Virion challenged with a smirk as he led her away to an area he had prepared earlier knowing that Robin could not say no to chess. 

At the challenge, Robin grew more excited to play with him. “Ohh it’s going to be like that, is it?” she challenged back with a small laugh as she followed him. For once in these past three months she felt free. Free of the constant negative thoughts and doubts that plagued her as of late. All she had to worry about was beating Virion in this match… easier said than done. 

\----

“Please be aware of your surroundings, milady,” Frederick warned Lissa since she was currently being a little too carefree in the field outside of camp. Only the gods knew what kind of dangers lurked inside the oasis they were currently exploring in. Such a place in the middle of the desert would attract all sorts of prey and predators alike… at least there would not be any wolves here… at least that was what he hoped. 

Lissa had insisted that Frederick be her guard for a little while- not that Frederick would refuse considering that was his job. She apparently wanted to find some special herbs that were only found in the desert and she thought the oasis near camp would be the best spot to find it… So here they were.

“Yeah, yeah, Frederick. You worry too much,” Lissa sighed dramatically as she continued to dig around the ground for whatever herbs she said she had been looking for. Frederick could not get over the fact that she was covered in dirt from head to toe in just the ten minutes they had been there. 

It irked him beyond belief. He could not allow her to ever dirty her hands but no matter how much he had insisted, she protested and pushed him away. Now here she was, filthy, and it was all his fault. He should have been more persistent even if she was his charge and her word was final… But nothing could be done about it now. It was already too late. Perhaps he will insist on cleaning her clothes for her. He did not trust that anyone would be able to get all the dirt out of her dress perfectly other than himself. His lady would just have to deal with it because he will not take no for an answer in that matter. 

He sighed quietly as he shifted his weight from one leg to the other. He hated to admit it, but the heat of Plegia was getting to him. It would tire him quicker than he normally ever did. Perhaps he should train in the middle of the day to test his endurance in extreme heat… It would help nobody if he were to lose focus in the middle of battle just because he was overheated. Yes, this should be on the top of his priority list. The battle was only days away and he had little time to waste on this. 

“Say Frederick,” Lissa started slowly, deciding that now would be a good time to ask him about her and Virion’s investigation of his love life. “Can I ask you something?” She finished as she patted her hands on her skirt and glanced up at him from the ground which she kneeled down in, prompting an annoyed eyebrow twitch from Frederick. More dirt…

“Of course, milady,” he said albeit a little hesitantly. He knew Lissa well enough to know that she would ask the darnest things sometimes... He remembered when she asked him about how babies were made back when she was barely eight years old... Needless to say, the stork excuse saved him for a few years before she prompted the question again when she was older and ready for the question to be answered properly. If only she had been more like Chrom who never questioned everything and went about life guessing things or eventually learning them from his studies… then again he would not be able to handle the both of them if that were the case.

Lissa thought long and hard on how to bring up the discussion and cleared her throat softly. “Well… I was wondering if you had any sort of romantic relationship with any of the women in camp?” she dropped the loaded question then, keeping a close eye on his face to check for any reaction to her question. 

To his credit, Frederick managed not to panic and keep himself together. “Of course not, milady. ‘Twould be unwise to do such a thing in a war campaign,” he explained as smoothly as he could. 

Lissa let out a small huff and quickly stood as she thought about what other question to ask him. She knew this would not be easy but she was determined. Something was up and she was going to find out one way or another. 

“Frederick, you do realize you’re not getting any younger, right?” Lissa countered with a raised eyebrow. “You should take any chance to snatch yourself a lady if someone happens to take interest in you! Even in the middle of a war!” 

Frederick felt slightly offended by her words but let it slide, as per usual. He sighed and shook his head, glancing away from her so that he would not glare at her. “I will keep that in mind,” he said simply before glancing back down at her. A small part of him wondered if he truly looked older than he felt? Gods… He should not even begin to think about this.

“Hmmm… How about a crush? Everyone has crushes from time to time! Even you wouldn’t be immune to it!” Lissa urged once more, staring at him with eager eyes. 

The eagerness in her eyes made it hard to lie to her. He sighed and crossed his hands behind his back as usual and glanced at her dirtied dress for the briefest of moments. It was seriously getting on his nerves; the dirt that is, not the dress. “Perhaps I may have something akin to a crush, yes,” he said slowly, hoping Lissa would not overreact. 

Unfortunately for him she did. 

The gasp and slight shriek she made caused him to flinch ever so slightly. “Seriously?!” she gasped excitedly, bouncing a little on the spot where she currently stood. She didn’t think Frederick would admit to such a thing in a million years! She was getting somewhere! “Who is it? You’ve got to tell me!” 

At that Frederick sighed and shook his head. “Forgive me, but I will do no such thing, milady,” he muttered as his eyes narrowed in an attempt to dissuade her. “If you are done here, we best head to camp before we are discovered by either an enemy or a predator.” 

Lissa pretended she did not hear him, and instead a mischievous look crossed her features. “Is itttttt… Cordelia?” He had absolutely no reaction to her suggestion so she knew it was not Cordelia. She would leave Robin for last just so she could see his expressions or reactions to the others. If it takes naming the whole army to find his crush, she would do it in a heartbeat. 

“Milady-“ he tried to get her mind off of the matter but she kept going. 

“Was it Sumia?” to which she got a glare from him.

“Of course not.” 

“Panne?” She could have sworn he shivered. 

“Certainly not.” 

“Miriel?” 

Frederick resisted the urge to say that he would rather marry a dictionary. 

“Hmmm… Sully?” 

“No.” 

“Olivia? She is rather pretty…”

“No.”

“Maribelle?”

“No.”

“How about me?”

“Heavens no.”

“Hey!” Lissa protested, frowning up at him. She was NOT ugly in the slightest!

“While you are beautiful, milady, I have no interest in you.” He alleviated, watching her calm down then. 

“Tharja?” he looked physically ill right then and there. “I take that as a no.”

“Nowi?” 

“No.”

It was then that Lissa took a deep breath and held back the urge to smirk. 

“Robin.” 

And there it was. He glanced away from her just briefly to let her know that she had hit home. He could not hide it. Plus he was taking longer to shut her down compared to the other women. 

“Milady, we should stop playing this game-“ 

“AH! IT _IS _ROBIN!” she exclaimed, throwing her small fists in the air in victory. Frederick could only sigh and shake his head slightly. She allowed herself to calm down and let some quiet time pass between them before she would ask the question she had really been building up to this whole time. “Come to think of it, you two were quite close,” she started slowly.__

__Frederick grew concerned with her statement. He started to wonder if maybe it had been too obvious this whole time and he was no longer good at hiding his feelings as well as he used to. He should keep himself in check better. He could easily expose any secrets of the royal family at this rate. This was quite the added necessity in his list of things to do. He needed to be more neutral about things… Not be so easily overcome by his emotions… Now that he thought about it, Robin was really good at reading him as well… Gods this had been going on longer than he would have liked it to have._ _

__“But now you two are really distant… Did something happen?” Lissa dropped the bomb then, staring up at him expectantly. What she happened to see was something she did not expect to see from Frederick at all._ _

__A mixture of hurt and panic crossed his features for only a split second. He shifted on his feet- something Frederick rarely ever did- and focused his gaze solely on the ground. He almost looked defeated to her, which alarmed her greatly. His usual composure fell so easily with such a simple, innocent question… What in the gods happened between them?_ _

__“Fred-“_ _

__“Nothing happened, milady. It would do you well not to trouble yourself with these things,” Frederick said flatly. He straightened up and his expression was back to how it usually was, as if nothing had ever happened. “Now, it is time we head back to camp. The sun is high and I worry it may damage your skin if we were to linger here exposed any longer.”_ _

__The tone of his voice was enough to make Lissa listen and comply this time. It was the ‘no nonsense and no buts’ tone that he would use back when she and Chrom were younger… Plus she was still startled over what had crossed on Frederick’s expression if only briefly. Maybe this was something she should have not brought up at all… but she was more curious to know what had happened now._ _

__Without another word between the two, they headed back into camp. Lissa hoped that maybe Virion might have gotten more out of Robin than she had gotten from Frederick._ _

__\----_ _

__One game had turned into five so far. Robin tried to put an end to the games but she could not say no to another round. So far she had won two out of the five matches so they were currently tied and trying to break it. Virion truly was a challenging opponent… Not to mention he did cheat by distracting her with his damn French here and there._ _

__“Are you sure about this, my lady?” Virion challenged as Robin tried to move a piece to a certain spot. “Looks to be a rather risky move I would say…”_ _

__Robin hissed under her breath and moved the piece back, glaring at him briefly. “Would it kill you to keep quiet, Virion? It’s hard to make decisions if you’re questioning my every move!” she protested, biting her lip in annoyance._ _

__“Doubt is your biggest enemy, Robin. You must overcome it if you wish to beat me,” Virion proclaimed proudly. “Doubt will only add years to your lovely face after all, ma cher.”_ _

__Robin only let out a frustrated groan to his comment and shoved a piece forward. “I’d probably lose a couple more years if you would stop with your petty flattery.”_ _

__Virion let out a small gasp but then chuckled in response. “You wound me!” he cried dramatically as he proceeded to jump the piece she had just moved. It had been a knight she had so fondly named Frederick too._ _

__“Gods I’m sorry, Frederick,” Robin whispered under her breath but Virion caught wind of it and burst out laughing. “You be quiet!”_ _

__“Speaking of Sir Frederick,” Virion started as he watched her move another piece. “Are you two close?”_ _

__Robin did not dare move or say anything for a few minutes before she continued with the piece. “Hm… You could say that, yes.”_ _

__“I see… Is it just friendly,” he elaborated as he moved another piece to counter hers. “Or say… more romantic?”_ _

__That got a reaction out of Robin. She paused in the game and glanced up at Virion with a raised eyebrow. What was he getting at?_ _

__“Do you happen to ask inappropriate questions as a hobby, Virion?” Robin countered instead, which sparked Virion’s interest even more. This would surely be the last match she played with him for the day. She was getting rather uncomfortable now but she could not bail on this match, Frederick the second was counting on her._ _

__Virion laughed awkwardly and shook his head. “My dear, I meant no disrespect. I am simply curious. It’s just that the two of you had been close and I was wondering is all.”_ _

__Robin let out a sigh and shook her head. “We have nothing romantic going on, I can assure you that,” she said quickly and went back to the game._ _

__“Is that so? Then why are you suddenly so distant? Did something happen between the two of you?” he prodded, narrowing his eyes slightly to see if he could catch her unawares._ _

__And he had. Mid piece placement, she accidentally knocked over one of the other pieces and cursed quietly. He could have sworn she whispered something around the lines of Frederick the second. She quickly recovered and shook her head._ _

__“Nothing serious,” she said a bit too sharply and rushed. “It’s just a simple disagreement is all. You know how he is sometimes.”_ _

__Virion did not believe it was something that was not serious for one second. Perhaps the disagreement was true, but how serious had this been?_ _

__“Something tells me this is more serious than you let on, Robin,” he tried to persuade her to say more about the matter but she frowned at him._ _

__“It’s not,” she said but the warning in her tone told him everything._ _

__“Are you sure about that? Was this a confession gone wrong perhaps?” he added to it, still keeping an eye on her._ _

__That seemed to get under Robin’s skin. The way she stared at the chess board and twiddled with one of the chess pieces told him plenty. It was not a confession, or at least, not how he thought a normal confession was like._ _

__“Of course not, Virion,” Robin trailed off quietly. It almost seemed like she wanted to tell him everything but at the same time she was scared to do so. This must have been something pretty terrible for her to grow so tense and quiet all of the sudden for._ _

__“Robin,” Virion started slowly, now starting to worry a little. He had never seen Robin like this… The only time he had was when Lady Emmeryn had met her untimely death._ _

__“Seriously,” Robin snapped, pulling her hands away from the board to hide her face in them. “If anything it’s nothing I wish to talk to you about.”_ _

__Now he was concerned that she may be crying behind her hands but nothing hinted that she was. “I can tell this is something that’s heavy on your mind. It might do you well to tell someone, and I can assure you I can keep a secret.”_ _

__Robin shook her head and lowered her hands to simply glare at him. “Please, Virion. I wish to not speak of this any longer. The only person I need to discuss this with is Frederick and none other,” she said as evenly as she could but there was almost a slight growl to her voice._ _

__Virion sighed softly and nodded slowly. “Alright, Robin, if that’s what you wish then I will respect it,” he said quietly. He then cleared his throat and straightened his cravat carefully. At this rate she would be terribly upset with him… he needed to change the topic. “Well I dare say the air has gotten thick here! Let’s focus on the game… You stand little chance in defeating me at this stage. Surely any move you were to pull here would end you! Admit defeat, my dear!”_ _

__His attempt to change the subject made Robin snort. But it did work its magic. “Oh really now? Wanna bet on it?” Robin challenged, starting to slowly relax right then and there._ _

__“How about a kiss?” Virion questioned with a slight smirk on his features. “If I were to win, I get a kiss!”_ _

__Robin was not going to lose now. “Alright, if I were to win, you can’t go around flattering every woman in camp for a day.”_ _

__Virion sucked in a breath and nodded. “I believe we have a deal.”_ _

__Robin smiled sweetly then, albeit a little too sweetly, and moved her remaining pawns in such an arrangement that Virion was eating his words in an instant. When had she learned to play like that? Was she hiding this potential this whole time?_ _

__“Ma cher… I would hate to think that you hate the thought of kissing me this much,” Virion said quietly as he tried to think of a way to counter her defensive line._ _

__“Quite frankly I do, chère Virion,” Robin whispered back with a sly smile on her features. That’s right. Cower before her. She picked up on his games._ _

__Virion could not even begin to process what had just happened. She just pulled the best play she had ever done on him and on top of that, she copied him! But she spoke French really well so he would let it slide. Perhaps he should teach her some. It might help win over Sir Frederick’s heart which she was trying so hard to get. He could tell she liked him… she did name a chess piece after him after all._ _

__He took a deep breath and moved one of the pieces, thinking that it may be the right move. He held the piece over the spot he was going to place it in but he heard a small disagreeing hum from Robin._ _

__“Are you sure about that?” she challenged, a coy look to her expression. Virion hated to admit it but he found this side of Robin quite attractive… Gods bless Sir Frederick if he ever dared challenging her because things would not go his way. This look, despite its attractiveness, was deadly._ _

__“O-Of course,” he said quickly, clearing his throat and pulling at his cravat just slightly. Was it him or was it getting increasingly hot?_ _

__As soon as he set the piece down in the spot, not letting his doubt take over him after he had just lectured Robin over it, Robin smirked and clicked her tongue. She then reached down and moved her pieces in slow, deliberate motions to where they reached his exposed king and captured it._ _

__“Checkmate,” she whispered softly as she reached over and flicked his nose softly. “I better not hear one single flattering phrase from you for the next several hours,” she added with a slight grin._ _

__Virion flushed bright red and rubbed his nose gently, looking disappointed that he lost. “And so it would seem…” he muttered as he fixed his cravat a little from having ruffled it before. “Before you go, Robin…”_ _

__“Yes?”_ _

__“…Did you by any chance name the king after Lord Chrom?”_ _

__“Damn right I did.”_ _

__“…Milady, dare I ask why you name your pieces after people?”_ _

__“It helps me make decisions if the pieces have more worth; naming them after our comrades help,” Robin explained with a small grin. “This one is you,” she said as she pointed at one of the first pawns Virion had taken out in the beginning of the game._ _

__“W-What?!” Virion cried out, but Robin was already running across the camp, trying to stifle her laugh. Virion sighed and shook his head, running a hand through his luscious locks. “Unbelievable… She sacrificed me so eagerly! Such a cruel, cunning woman! Thank the gods she does not play with real, actual lives…”_ _

__\----_ _

__Lissa returned just as Virion had finished with Robin. She looked quite disappointed as she waited for Virion to join her and tell her if he had any luck with Robin. She was quite concerned as to what happened though… whatever it had been, it must have been really nasty._ _

__Virion soon went over to meet up with Lissa over at their designated spot; which happened to be on one of the corners of the camp where no one really bothered to trek through… except Frederick on his patrols, but he was busy with something else at the moment._ _

__Lissa perked up when she saw Virion walk up to her and grinned. “Did you get anything?”_ _

__“Not a lot I’m afraid, but enough I would say, milady,” he explained as vaguely as humanely possible which annoyed Lissa to no end. “But I did get murdered by Robin I’m afraid.”_ _

__Lissa simply stared at Virion, wondering what in the hells he was even talking about. “Wouldn’t you be dead if she had?”_ _

__“I was,” Virion sobbed sadly to himself as he shook his head in self pity._ _

__“Okaaay… Whatever,” Lissa cut him off quickly and proceeded to ignore him. She wanted to discuss the matter immediately. “All I got from Frederick was that he did have a crush on Robin… and whatever dispute they had must have been really nasty…”_ _

__Virion looked genuinely surprised then. “Sir Frederick likes Robin?”_ _

__“Yeah he does! It was sooo obvious! I named all the women in camp and he only reacted when I said Robin’s name,” Lissa explained as if she had done the best investigation in the world. And dare he say she looked extremely proud of said investigation._ _

__Virion decided to keep to himself that Robin also had quite the hankering for Sir Frederick just as much as he had one with her… Knowing Lissa, gods bless her, she would spill the beans and cause a problem for themselves. Sure, Robin and Frederick would be happy, but they would also be mad at him and Lissa for telling their secrets._ _

__“All I got from Robin was that it was really bad. She was extremely upset whenever I tried to get it out of her...” Virion explained to Lissa as he frowned. “I’m quite concerned for her honestly…”  
His concerned then transferred over to Lissa and she wondered what it was that could have affected Robin and Frederick so strongly._ _

__“Did they do something to each other? But if they did, what could have hurt them so profusely?” Lissa wondered out loud as she crossed her arms._ _

__“I do not believe any amount of name calling could cause that much damage, and a training accident would be resolved easily and in the moment…” Virion added to the speculation, eyes narrowed in deep thought._ _

__“If Robin had betrayed Frederick, I’m sure either Robin would have been dead or Frederick so it’s definitely not that,” Lissa added once more to which earned her a look from Virion. “What? He distrusted her at first!”_ _

__Virion thought about all the possible things that could have happened that may have upset them this badly but none of them seemed to fit. Their pain was too deep… for Lissa to notice that Sir Frederick was upset, it must have been. The only thing he could think about that usually upset people greatly was being used by the other person that they trusted. And the only thing that fit the bill on that description was having sex with each other… But Sir Frederick would never attempt such a thing. He does not ever show any signs of sexual interest, in fact! Then again he didn’t know either of them that well. He did see a side to Robin earlier when they were playing that he would have never pictured her having… Perhaps Sir Frederick too had a side to him no one knew about._ _

__“You’re quiet… did you figure it out?” Lissa asked, tilting her head curiously._ _

__“Not at all, milady,” Virion sighed out and shook his head. It seemed neither of them made it anywhere… and if it really was what he had been thinking about, he would rather not share it with Lissa. The young lady need not hear of such things, especially since it related with the knight she practically grew up with._ _

__“Darn… Looks like we’ll never know… Neither of them want to share a thing,” Lissa sighed out softly as she shrugged her shoulders in defeat. “Oh well… Hopefully they resolve whatever it is!”_ _

__“Indeed…”_ _

__He hoped they did… at least for Robin’s sake. The poor girl looked to be terribly haunted by whatever had happened between her and the knight… He hoped it was not as serious as he thought it was._ _


	5. The Day Before The Battle

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the later than usual update XDD had trouble figuring out how to make the chapter flow right so I apologize if it's messy

Tomorrow.

Tomorrow would be the day that they would confront Gangrel and end the war. At long last. They would finally avenge Emmeryn’s death and put an end to the senseless fighting. With Gangrel gone, they could finally work on bringing peace to the people of Plegia and Ylisse. They could all put the past to rest at last. 

Everyone was eager and ready to head into the battle. A few of the soldiers even tried to convince Chrom to charge today as opposed to tomorrow but Chrom quickly shut the idea down; as much as he too wanted the battle to happen sooner than later, he was aware that if they charged head first, eager to shed blood, they could all potentially kill themselves. They needed to be practical and level headed. This was a war, not a game. 

This was a fact that did not sit well with Robin since she had awoken that morning. Maybe it was the hormones of her pregnancy, or maybe she was just genuinely scared after already seeing someone she knew die before, but Robin could not bring herself to settle down and prepare for the war. Try as she might, she could not stop having panic attacks about the matter. She had been hiding and cowering most of the morning hours because of them so no one would see her falling apart. What would everyone think if they saw the tactician having a mental breakdown before the most important battle of the war? They would lose all the enthusiasm and confidence that they had been building up for months!

The constant attacks were driving Robin insane. Normally she would just brace for battle, but here she was, a complete and utter wreck. She was even starting to worry about her unborn child’s health at this point with how bad they had gotten. If she did not kill it today with her anxiety, someone in the battlefield would kill it tomorrow. In fact, now that she thought about it, the child was a big part of the reason why she kept panicking…

The thought of her facing off against her enemies in battle and having one suddenly catch her unawares and attack her was the only thing that kept replaying in her head. What if she did not dodge in time and an axe cleaves its way into her abdomen? Her baby would be gone! Her whole future would disappear in the blink of an eye! Or maybe she would overexert herself in battle and cause too much stress on her body and in response she suffers a miscarriage? If only she was fighting for just her own life because two at the same time—

“Calm down, Robin,” she chided to herself, currently huddled behind one of the tents as her body trembled in her episode. “You’ll end up having a miscarriage right now if you keep this up…” 

She sighed deeply and gave herself a small squeeze in an attempt to stop her trembling. Once she had calmed down enough, she got to her feet and moved out of the spot before someone stumbled upon her. Perhaps some herbal tea would help her nerves… If she hid all day, everyone would start wondering where she was and that would be problematic considering they did have another council today in a few hours. 

Normally everyone would have groaned at the thought of having another one, but this one was the most necessary meeting of them all. Anybody could have forgotten the smallest of details about the strategy in the past several weeks of planning. Plus it will be the day that roles will be officially assigned before the battle; they had been discussed before but nobody had made it official yet, they were more lazily tossed around the room to see if anyone had any objections. 

She went towards the infirmary tent as carefully as she could. It would be the only place to find any kind of medicinal tea after all. No doubt they had plenty of herbs that would help calm the nerves of soldiers considering that the battle was tomorrow. 

Unfortunately Robin could not stop trembling no matter how hard she tried to make it stop. Her gait was a bit wobbly and she could hardly breathe right as she struggled to make her way into the tent. If her body was behaving in such a way, she did not want to know how she looked. She might look paler than a ghost at this point… it did not help that she was starting to feel a little nauseated as well. 

When she reached the tent and entered it, she almost wept when she saw who was attending the sick or injured for the day. It was none other than Libra. He knew her situation and would ask no questions. She had feared Maribelle or Lissa were on duty today and the questions they would have asked her would have made her condition worse. 

“Libra,” she barely managed to call out to the gorgeous man that could easily be confused for a woman… the voice did not help his cause either, but he seemed to take it all in stride. As soon as the words left her lips, her legs gave up on her and she was suddenly falling. 

Libra reacted quickly and caught her just in time before she would fall flat on her face. “By the grace of Naga! Robin, are you alright?!” he asked in a hurry as he helped settle her down in one of the beds before she could collapse again. 

“Afraid not…” Robin managed out, gripping the sheets of the bed tightly in an attempt to calm herself but she seemed to have gotten worse when she saw the man. It was as if the weight of the world came crashing down on her all at once and she was so close to bawling her eyes out before him. 

Libra gave her a quick onceover and concluded that she was not in any danger of dying on the spot and managed to relax. He took her hand in his and checked her pulse; which he found was practically beating out of her veins. 

“What seems to be the problem, Robin?” he asked as calmly as he could, trying to help her calm down. “You look absolutely awful…”

Robin tried to tell him but all she managed were wavering, incoherent words. She shook her head in defeat and placed her hand on her belly in an attempt to explain to him, but that only seemed to worry him more. 

“Is something wrong with your child?” he inquired again, placing his hand gently on the spot she had just touched and pressing down on it. Nothing seemed unusual to him in her abdomen and she certainly was not having a miscarriage from what he could see.

She shook her head and once more attempted to explain. “I just… the baby… the battle…” she tried her hardest to make a complete sentence, but she ultimately broke down in sobs, covering her face in her hands in an attempt to hide her tears. Gods how she hated crying…

Libra immediately got it then and nodded. “You fear for your child’s life in this battle is what you’ve been trying to tell me, correct?” he inquired to which he got a nod from. He waited a few minutes for her to stifle her cries as much as she could muster while he placed a hand on her shoulder in comfort. 

“I’m just so afraid and I don’t understand why…” Robin managed to sob out as she wiped her face of her tears in frustration. “I’ve never been like this… E-even when we went to save Emmeryn I never…” she trailed off as she struggled to fight her dribbling nose in an attempt to keep some of her dignity intact. 

Libra spared her some mercy as he handed her a handkerchief to blow her nose on while he went to prepare her some severely needed tea for her anxiety and stress. “While your fear is perfectly understandable, your meltdown may be due to your pregnancy. You said you’ve never reacted this badly to stress before, correct? The hormones coursing through your body may be a big factor in this.”

Robin nodded slowly as she watched Libra prepare the tea for her. “It’s just that… the ‘what ifs’,” she sighed out as she stared at the dirtied handkerchief. “What if I’m in the middle of a battle and an enemy soldier cuts or stabs my abdomen? My child will die…”

Libra listened carefully as he moved over to her with her tea. “If that were to happen, Naga forbid, the chances of the both of you dying are quite high,” he stated plainly as he carefully handed her the tea so that she would not spill it on herself and be burned. “I highly doubt such a thing would ever happen regardless, Robin. I’m positive you will not allow anyone to get near a ten foot radius around you. Not to mention you have many friends who will most likely keep an eye on you while you’re in combat.”

Robin watched Libra for a moment before she took her first sip of the tea gratefully. “T-that’s true, but…” 

“No more ‘buts’ or ‘what ifs’, Robin,” Libra said sternly as he narrowed his eyes a fraction. “You’re only adding stress to your body with these thoughts. Your child would not even make it for the battle at this rate. You should relax and not think about it. This battle will be just like every battle you’ve fought… Just be more mindful about any stunts you might think about pulling…” he finished with a slight warning to his voice. 

She sure was notorious for pushing others out of harm’s way and risking her own life, but no one could convince her to stop doing such reckless stunts in the middle of battle… as of late that is. The child might be the only one able to convince her to stop and think for once. 

Robin continued to sip on her tea while she thought about Libra’s words. Her new plan did consist of protecting herself from any kind of attack and staying out of her enemy’s reach, but she knew that it was a rather unreasonable plan. Someone at some point could manage to break through her line of defense. 

“Besides,” he started again, now smiling softly. “I will make sure that if any harm were to befall you or your child, I will treat it to the best of my ability as soon as I am able to reach you. I take it I am the only person that knows of the child still, yes? If so, no one else would try to heal your child unless you told them right then and there.” 

“That would be the worst possible timing to tell someone,” Robin muttered against the cup that was pressed on her lips currently. She then let out a small snort and rolled her eyes. “Imagine, ‘ah I have this injury on my abdomen that needs to be treated, but first could you make sure my child is safe? I’m pregnant…’ Gods that would be disastrous.” 

Libra could not help but chuckle as well, shaking his head. “That would definitely be the worst way to find out,” he mused as he eyed her carefully. She had finally stopped shaking and she had some color back on her cheeks, a clear sign that the tea was working. “Are you feeling better now?” 

Robin hummed in response, smiling a little. “Yeah… The tea helped plenty, but so did you,” she explained as she set the now empty cup down and stared at it. “You’re right. I am being unreasonable right now.”

“It can’t be helped I suppose,” Libra said with a smile as he took the cup from her. “If your anxiety spikes up again, please come and see me. I will be here all day with our other healers making sure we have enough healing staffs for the battle.”

Robin nodded and slid off the bed as carefully as she could, just in case she were to lose her balance after her episode. Once she was sure she could walk once more, she bid Libra farewell after offering him a thank you before she left the infirmary tent. 

Once outside, she took a deep breath and tried to collect her thoughts. The council was in a few hours, which was the one thing she really could worry about considering she had prepared all her tomes and swords days prior. She really had nothing to do but make sure her strategy was as flawless as humanely possible. If she were to be so bold, her plan already was nearly flawless after having reviewed it multiple times in the three months they had to prepare… at least that’s what everyone told her. She had no other choice but to believe everyone on this because she had no faith in her abilities anymore. 

She sighed quietly as she placed a hand on her belly and rubbed the spot gently. She had taken a bath the other day and when she was putting her clothes on, she had caught a glimpse of her reflection in a mirror. She could not believe what she had seen in it. She was starting to show. It was the smallest possible belly ever but it was there. Nobody would ever guess she was pregnant, but they would think she may be slacking off and was gaining weight around her midsection. This revelation had added more stress and worry to her…

There was no way she could bathe with any of the girls now. If they saw her full belly they would pick on her relentlessly and push her to do vigorous workout sessions. That would be chaotic to say the least. She could only thank the gods that she usually wore extremely baggy clothing and multiple layers to the point no one could really tell her figure; it was her only saving grace at this point of the pregnancy. The war would thankfully be over in a day or two, depending on how long the battle will last, and then she could worry about her pregnancy along with everything else. 

Robin snapped back to reality then and glanced around the camp quickly to make sure nobody was looking at her weird. Thankfully everyone seemed to be too distracted with preparations still. She stood there a little longer debating on what she could spend her time doing… Exercising would probably do her good but she needed to figure out what kind she could do… Perhaps shadow fencing or training her focus and aim with her magic would be good? It was not too strenuous on her body, so there would be little danger to her child… And quite frankly she had no idea how much exercise was good or bad for the child… So, yeah she could definitely do that. 

With that in mind, she went to find an empty spot to practice. All her stress and anxiety had left her as suddenly as it had arrived and she felt so much better. She soon found the perfect spot in a field near the camp that nobody was busy using. She made sure that there was no one around one last time before she unsheathed the bronze sword that was stashed in her side. Normally she would use something of better quality and material in actual combat, but since this was just practice, she supposed this dull bronze sword would work perfectly. Either way, it worked just the same; the only difference was the weight of the weapons after all. 

She slashed the air quickly to get adjusted to said weight for a moment, and then took her usual combat position. She was a little hesitant at first, worried deeply for the child she carried, but she soon remembered that she had seen women in villages doing normal chores while pregnant just fine. Therefore she should not be too worried about it with the kind of exercises she was performing. A few more slashes here and there, and she was soon lost to a rhythm she could not escape from. She pretended to parry and counter her imaginary opponent’s attacks as quickly and as powerfully as she possibly could. She even imagined a couple enemies rushing at her with lances and axes to practice any and all moves she could use to deflect such attacks. 

After about an hour of that, she decided it would be enough. She sighed softly and sheathed the sword back into a scabbard at her side so as to not leave a weapon lying about where anyone could run into it and injure themselves. And knowing her comrades as well as she did, it was more than likely going to happen sooner than later. Now it was time to practice her control and focus with magic. She wished she could practice her aim, but the chances of her striking someone, or possibly setting a dry bush on fire were much too high despite being in the middle of a desert. She wasn’t as clumsy or unlucky as Chrom was when he trained but this was unknown terrain to her and she had little idea as to what could be lurking under the sand dunes…

Right as she had opened her tome and concentrated on the spell she was trying to create, she heard someone’s footsteps approaching her. She was quite frankly startled, but she was not about to lose her focus. What good would it do to her if she jumped and lost her spell because of some enemy sneaking up behind her every single time it happened? She needed to keep her focus even when situations like those were to arise. In fact, who’s to say whoever is approaching her wasn’t an enemy?

She turned on her heel to face whoever it was, tome charged and ready to launch at a moment’s notice. She paused when she realized it was a comrade, rather than an enemy she had imagined in one of her ridiculous scenarios just now. And not just any simple comrade, it was Frederick. 

“Frederick? You startled me!” Robin breathed out as she closed the tome and diffused the spell. 

“Ah, forgive me. It was not my intention to do so, milady,” Frederick apologized curtly and simply continued to stand there, eyeing her carefully for a few moments before he had glanced past her shoulders into the endless desert beyond. 

How could he possibly look Robin in the face after the epiphany he just had a few days before? What did Robin even think of him? Did she think him a womanizer of some sort? Surely she would know that he was not that kind of man; he had never slept with anyone else besides her. That is unless someone had spread ill rumors about him doing such frivolous activities? No, no. He had heard most of the rumors and he had never heard of anything that could be similar to that accusation. 

Robin is the only woman he has ever loved, at least that’s what he believes he feels for the tactician, and would be the only one he would ever bed. He wanted to tell her; felt the words building up in the back of his throat to the point that it hurt. His chest felt heavy and he began feeling rather dizzy as his conscience suffocated him. _Tell her_ , it said, _tell her now before it’s too late. What if she were to die tomorrow? What would you do with yourself then? What peace would she ever find if you don’t tell her that you love her and that you never wanted to use her?_

“Frederick?” Robin repeated curiously, noticing that Frederick didn’t seem to be there at all. She would even dare say that he looked troubled to the point he was making himself sick. “Are you alright? You look a little pale…”

Her words quickly snapped him out of his thoughts and he smiled slightly at her. “Ah yes, I’m simply distracted with thoughts of tomorrow’s battle. No need to worry yourself.”

“Still, you look as if you’ve eaten some gamey meat,” Robin persisted carefully. She had no idea why she wanted to know if he was well. She honestly should not… but after the few words and actions they exchanged in the past couple days, she felt her anger diminish just slightly. She had concluded that Frederick was just a thick headed idiot is all...

Frederick chuckled at her analogy and shook his head. “I’m in top form today, I can assure you… And I have yet to eat any gamey meat.”

He still could not tell her. It was not because he was nervous or afraid to, no, he wanted to in fact, it was just that he did not want to add any additional emotional stress on Robin than she could already be carrying for the battle to come. It would only be a matter of time now before he could tell her. He could only hope that she would forgive him…

Robin sighed softly and shrugged, eyeing his obnoxiously polished armor carefully as it blinded her as the sun struck it in just the right angle. She felt tempted to scoop up some sand and throw it onto it, but she doubted sand would do much damage to the armor. Might get under Frederick’s skin though, that would be just as swell.

After an awkward silence between the two, Frederick cleared his throat, snapping Robin’s mind out of her serious debate about pouring sand into his armor. He had little idea the woman had been planning something so vile for the past couple minutes.

“You were training, correct?” Frederick inquired, as he raised an eyebrow.

“Yeah… Shadow fencing more like, but just the same,” Robin answered quickly with a smile. “Why do you ask? Want to train with me?” she offered, but it was more of a joke than an actual offer.

“If you wouldn’t mind me intruding,” Frederick responded casually as Robin stared at him for a moment. “It would benefit us both greatly."

Robin stared at Frederick for a little while longer to the point that she swore he looked incredibly uncomfortable under her unrelenting gaze. Should she risk it? Frederick wasn’t one to injure his comrades during training but he did push them over the edge… She could always fake exhaustion and get out of the sparring session quickly…

“I would not mind you intruding,” Robin giggled softly as she motioned for him to enter the field. “I suppose this would be a good time as any to build up your resistance to magic a little bit.”

Frederick seemed to pale at the thought of her throwing spells at him but he knew it would serve him well to build up some resistance before the battle. Plus this sparring session in the middle of the heat would also help with his endurance in the infernal climate of Plegia.

“Shall we then?” Frederick responded as he moved to the spot she had directed and readied the lance he had been carrying with him… She assumed he was sharpening it prior their meeting.

“Of course,” Robin hummed her reply as she once more opened her tome and unsheathed the sword from her waist as to parry his blows as she had practiced before.

One look at Frederick and one would think that he would be slow on his feet but they would be wrong… so wrong. This man was faster than anyone could imagine and it was frankly a little unnerving. A two-hundred or so pound man charging straight for a meek one-hundred pound woman with about fifty extra pounds of armor or more on him was absolutely terrifying. She could easily be flattened like a pancake if she wasn’t careful. She was sure the ground would crack if this man were to ever be thrown off his horse with enough force.

She grunted with the effort she put forth as she parried the blow he had aimed for her and tried to slash at his abdomen with her own move. Of course he moved out of the way easily and with little effort and tried to strike her again while she was recovering, but she quickly threw a spell his way to keep him at bay. He narrowly missed it.

And so they spent about thirty or so minutes just like this. Parrying and dodging all sorts of attacks tossed their way. It was like a dance sometimes while other times they were stumbling and fumbling around for their weapons after a few good hits with either tome or lance. Robin had succeeded in making Frederick curse under his breath each and every time she managed to hit him with well placed thunder. The armor simply made the spell all the more painful because of its conductive properties. It amused her to see him attempt to shake off the sting of it, but a small part of her was extremely worried as it thought about him getting hit by a much stronger tome… She didn’t think he’d be able to survive if he were to be hit by a thoron or something more.

At some point in the battle, Robin managed to strike Frederick with a solid hit to the chest with her tome. The shock-no pun intended- of the strike left him paralyzed for a few seconds. Seconds Robin could use to her advantage. She ran up to him as quickly as she could before he could manage to shake it off and leaped into the air. She slammed her full weight against his unstable body; successfully knocking off his balance and making him fall flat on his back. She swore quietly at getting a few electrical currents herself for touching his armor, but thankfully it was nothing that would hurt her child; it just numbed her slightly where it hit.

She now had him pinned under her body and quickly placed the sword against his throat to stop him from attempting anything. Frederick managed to come to his senses then and slowly raised his arms in defeat. He could have easily thrown her off of him, but he knew that if this were a real life or death battle, he would have already been dead, so therefore he had lost fair and square.

“Well… you’ve certainly improved,” Frederick muttered as he slowly pushed the sword from his throat when Robin didn’t remove it fast enough. He could have sworn she had been sending a prominent message to him with the threat of the sword at his throat.

“I did have a good teacher,” Robin countered with a slight grin while trying to catch her breath after move she had pulled on him. She was just inches away from Frederick’s face at this point. She was almost tempted to lean further and give him a kiss, but no. He made it clear he wanted nothing with her… even with his contradictory behavior. No matter how charming and handsome he appeared to be, she knew better now.

Frederick could only chuckle at her comment and tried to reply but he was cut short when they heard a wolf whistle a few feet away from them.

“Dang, Bubbles,” Gaiu’s classic nickname immediately reached Robin’s ears and they both quickly glanced towards said thief who was currently sucking on a lollipop like usual. “Didn’t think you were so forward…”

Robin gave him a very confused look, wondering what in the hells he was even talking about. “What do you mean?”

His only reply was an eyebrow wiggle and a wink as he motioned towards them. Both she and Frederick struggled to understand what he was suggesting until they remembered about the current position they were on. Robin was literally sitting on top of Frederick and when Gaius had walked in their faces were just only inches apart. It truly looked like they were minutes away from making out and possibly having it escalate to more soon after.

Robin reacted first.

Her cheeks burned bright red and she struggled to form any kind of coherent phrase to yell at the idiot. “G-GAIUS! IT’S NOT LIKE THAT!” she screeched, immediately getting off of him but she ended up tripping and falling to the ground on her side in her hurry.

“You most definitely have the wrong idea, thief,” Frederick hissed as he stood up as quickly as he could and helped Robin to her own two feet. Gods what an utterly embarrassing situation!

“Suuuure,” Gaius drawled out as he stared at Robin who looked about ready to clobber him. And damn it all he was going to say what was on his mind even if it meat losing his head. “Looked like you wanted a piece of him quite badly. You’ve been scoping the men out lately, haven’t you? Now it makes sense why you kept walking into the men's bathing tent…”

Robin gasped loudly and swore all kinds of vulgar words and phrases at him. “THOSE WERE ACCIDENTS, YOU IDIOT!” she cried out as she chased after him, ready to murder him on the spot. “Get back here, you coward!” How dare he?! Sure she had stared at Frederick’s ass for a few minutes longer than appropriately allowed, but never did she check out the other men like that!

Frederick watched as Gaius ran as fast as he could, trying to escape Robin’s wrath. He sighed and ran a hand through hair and glanced off to the side, while a small blush tinted his cheeks. After that night a few months ago, Frederick could not deny that he had dreams similar to it that still involved Robin… He knew in his heart of hearts that he was the one that wanted another piece of Robin…

Gods he needed to get a hold of himself. This was despicable behavior.

\-----

The council had begun an hour or so ago and everyone was taking the roles of commandeering certain units that would be sent to the battlefield. Everyone seemed to be in good spirits and eager to put an end to the blasted war that had dragged on for much too long.

Once roles were officially assigned, they leisurely spoke amongst themselves. They mostly spoke about having each other’s backs, or not to be a complete idiot in the battlefield… a few asked why Gaius’s clothes were slightly scorched in some areas to which Gaius shrugged off and refused to answer.

Thankfully after all the exertion Robin made during the day, the baby was perfectly fine after she had gone to see Libra for another checkup out of worried paranoia. She was glad that her child could handle a few hours of somewhat intense physical activities and felt less worried for it. Libra simply said that as long as she didn’t cause any kind of physical harm to her belly, the baby would be fine. It was definitely hard being pregnant and not having a mother or friend to help her step by step through the process. Surely Maribelle would have more knowledge on the matter with all the medical books she’s had to study. Libra was great and all but sometimes she just needed a girl friend to help her out… She could tell them all the embarrassing details of her pregnancy much more comfortably than she would with a man.

“After tomorrow, we’ll finally be at peace once more,” Chrom sighed next to her with a slight smile. “And then we’ll have to focus on the politics of it all…” he groaned the last part out and Robin could have sworn he shuddered. “Can’t wait…”

“At least it’s politics and not war… Though I can’t say much because I feel like I would prefer battle tactics compared to economical growth and all that,” Robin replied, making a face at the thought. It truly did sound dreadful and she felt sorry for the exalt-to-be.

Chrom chuckled and nodded. “I’m sure you would do a better job than me with politics… Or not. We could both be disasters for all we know.”

“I’ll treat every situation as if I were in a great battle,” she mused in return. “I don’t think making the people fight each other would be a wise political strategy…”

Unfortunately her fun jokes with Chrom were cut short when the others butted in and took Chrom’s attention away for some reason or another. This gave Robin plenty of time to look over her strategy once again even though they had discussed it not too long ago. She just wanted to be one hundred percent sure that everything truly was flawless.

Everything looked great from what she could tell, just as everyone assured her. But a part of Robin screamed at her that it wasn’t so. _You’re lying to yourself. You’re going to get everyone here killed tomorrow. Your plan is much too flawed…_ It said relentlessly, but she pushed it down. She could do so just because she could see for herself that whatever bad scenario her mind played to her, she could counter it with the strategy she had at hand.

Suddenly she began to feel a little lightheaded. She casually braced her hands against the table while she pretended that nothing was wrong with her. Hopefully this would go away as quickly as it had struck her. Unfortunately, lightheadedness wasn’t going to be her only symptom. The nausea struck her worse than the previous symptom had, and she almost swore under her breath. This was the worst time for this to happen… She could not vomit. At least not here.

“Are you alright, Robin?” Kellam asked out of nowhere and everyone in the tent had been startled by his comment. Even Robin had been startled slightly but a small part of her already knew that Kellam was somewhere in the room watching so she hadn’t freaked out as badly as everyone… plus she was feeling too awful to really think about it. Everyone’s attention quickly went from Kellam to Robin in an instant.

“Damn, you look like you ate some nasty shit,” Sully commented next, noticing the pale, greenish hue her skin had turned.

“Is your cold back?” Ricken asked with concern.

A couple more voiced their concern but Robin shook her head. How was she supposed to lie about this? Her “cold” had been cured days before, she couldn’t use that excuse anymore. Nervousness? Yeah she could potentially use that.

As soon as she tried to answer them, she just about hurled right then and there. She quickly covered her mouth and stepped away from the table as her body automatically jerked with each heave it forced her to do. Everyone was alert and on their feet now, asking her what was wrong. She almost wanted to yell at them for their stupidity, but she couldn’t not unless she wanted to vomit all over the tent floor.

She felt a bucket a second later and she gratefully took it. Finally someone reacted and saved her some embarrassment. As soon as she held the bucket, she hurled all the contents that were in her stomach into it. Every time she thought she was done, she would just go back to retching seconds later. Someone else had taken a chair and brought it over to her so she could sit down and take care of her urgent business.

It took about three minutes for her to calm down. She leaned back against the chair’s backrest and sighed pitifully. It was then that she noticed that the person who had given her a bucket was Libra and she smiled gratefully. This man was a gods send.

“You alright?” Chrom asked quietly once a few minutes had passed, slowly coming into her line of sight. He looked tense… actually the whole atmosphere in the tent was pretty tense.

“Y-yeah…” Robin managed to answer hoarsely while Maribelle offered one of her handkerchiefs so that she could wipe her chin. Robin was surprised by the gesture to say the least.

“Robin’s been pretty stressed for most of the day. This is a battle that relies heavily on her strategy and she worries greatly about any possible failures,” Libra started slowly so that everyone would listen to him. “She’s simply having a normal, nervous reaction to all of this. Her cold has been long gone, I can assure you all that.”

“Will she be able to fight tomorrow?” Chrom voiced the question on everyone’s minds.

“Certainly,” Libra replied, glancing up at everyone and smiling at them. “She simply needs a good night’s rest and she will be ready.”

“Perhaps it would do all of us some good to do just the same,” Frederick added then, glancing at each individual comrade in the tent. “We cannot afford to be weary tomorrow.”

Libra smiled and nodded at Frederick. “Thank you, Sir Frederick. I will be helping Robin back to her tent for the night,” he offered as he helped Robin to her feet and led her out of the tent as quickly as he could before anyone else could pester her with any more questions.

Once they had reached her tent, Robin let out a soft groan when she was carefully laid on her cot. “You’re a lifesaver,” she breathed out as she placed her arm over her eyes.

Libra simply chuckled softly and prepared some more tea for her nausea along with something to help her sleep for the night. “I am just a simple man, Robin, all I did was diffuse the situation,” he said as he offered the tea to her. “Please make sure to drink this. If you’re so adamant about heading to the battlefield, you will need all the rest you can get.”

Robin sat up slightly so that she could take the tea and sip from it. “Thanks… Hopefully I do sleep well… Do you think we’d have enough time to make some of this tea before the battle? It would be bad if I were to fall ill in the heat of battle…”

“I’m sure there will be time,” Libra offered with a smile as he moved towards the entrance of the tent. “I shall take my leave. If you need me at any point of the night, please don’t hesitate.”

Robin sighed and nodded, lazily staring at him. She already felt drained from the few sips of the tea. Whatever herbs he had prepared for the sleeping portion of it, they were incredibly strong. “Alright… Goodnight, Libra.”

“Goodnight, Robin,” and with that, the odd religious man left the tent and headed for his own. All the Shepherds and soldiers were doing just the same as advised by Frederick despite the worry they held for the tactician that had fallen ill. 

It was going to all be over tomorrow. They would make damn sure of it.


	6. The Battle

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright so XDD I apologize for the lateness of this! I had such a hard time writing it (because i am absolutely terrible at writing battle scenes). Because of that, I decided to play my recent FE: Awakening file for some motivation and content as well to see more character interactions with Robin (which is really difficult to do cuz I'm playing in Hard mode and well... you're dirt poor in hard mode all the time XD)
> 
> As I said, I am terrible at battle scenes which is why the chapter may feel rushed. Gangrel's battle isn't written out because I personally get tired of reading battle scenes quite quickly and I was just going to repeat myself over and over again...
> 
> But anyway! Hope you enjoy it! XD
> 
> (also fyi, classes start next wednesday for me so chapters might be released a lot slower than before :'D)

It was early morning. The whole camp was abuzz with activity as they made any last minute preparations for the battle to come in the next few hours. Soldiers moved to their respective ranks and parties, while commanders made sure that their men and women were present and ready for battle. Each of the shepherds commandeered an armada of soldiers for this battle… except the few shepherds that were known for being a little… odd. They were not to be trusted with the lives of soldiers considering they most likely thought their lives were dispensable. 

But of all of them, there was one person who was trusted with everyone’s lives in this war because of their brilliant thoughts and plans that revolved around every single soldier in the army. Not one soldier was excluded from the plans, and they went through hell and back to make sure that all the soldiers come out alive. Hours spent intensely strategizing, ignoring any and all personal needs that they required to be a healthy, living human being, all for the sake of men and women they knew little of. 

And that person was Robin. She is the only one that leads every single unit into battle way before Chrom does. In all technicality, Chrom is simply following her orders so she too leads Chrom. She’s by far the most important member in this army… 

And Frederick would have never predicted that he would be thinking of such things about Robin. Robin. The woman he distrusted with all his might; an armed stranger found sleeping in a field that randomly decided to fight for their cause. Trust was inevitable. He knew some day she would have earned his trust because no matter how much he wanted to not trust her, the honesty in her eyes was hard to ignore. What he didn’t know was that she would steal his heart the way that she did… nor did he ever think that he would have intercourse with a woman he wasn’t married to and ultimately ended up hurting them…

Today he would not fail her. He would take an arrow, a sword, an ax, a lance, or a tome through his heart before he would let any harm befall Robin in this battle. Not just because he loves her and wants her to live, but also because she is needed and loved by all.

His resolve was only strengthened after what happened the night before. She was not well. And if she was not well, things would go badly. Perhaps it really was just the stress of it all and that she would be better today, but he would not let this slide as some minimal side effect. He will not let her fall here, and he will give her mind closure even if it will take all and his very last breath to tell her everything that needed to be said. His own life be damned. 

“Is everyone ready?” Chrom asked as he approached his long time friend/nanny. It brought Frederick out of his rampant thoughts and he simply smiled at his lord. 

“Everything is set and ready as planned, milord,” he confirmed as he eyed his lord to make sure that he too was ready. It was hard not to be concerned for Chrom as much as he usually was because of how… well… His lord was not the brightest sometimes as much as he hated to admit it. 

“So all that’s left is Robin then?” he mused with a slight grin just as Lissa and Sumia strolled up to them. 

“I can go get her!” Lissa exclaimed happily as she grinned at Frederick and Chrom. All she got as a reply was a nod from both Frederick and Chrom before she was up and running towards Robin’s tent. 

“I sure do hope she’s well,” Chrom muttered quietly to Frederick as he slowly made his way over to Robin’s tent to await his friend to emerge. “She looked terrible yesterday.”

“I’m sure she will be fine,” Sumia comforted Chrom as she smiled at him. She did almost trip while on the walk to the tent, but Chrom had managed to catch her before she had faceplanted. “Robin doesn’t stay down for long, after all!” 

Chrom chuckled and nodded, now standing a few feet outside the tent with Frederick and Sumia at either side of him. “That’s true.”

“And if she wasn’t, I doubt she would ever stay here in camp while we’re in battle even if we told her to,” Sumia added slowly with a small smile. “She’s that kind of person, right?”

Chrom let out a another small chuckle while Frederick sighed. It was most definitely true that Robin would not sit around and wait for her friends to probably die in battle. She wanted to be in the heart of things, fighting side by side, making sure she has tried every possible action available to her to prevent someone’s death. 

\---

Lissa barged into the tent, ready to yell and be as obnoxious as ever, but then she remembered that Robin had not been all that well the night before and she should consider her feelings a little… just this once.

She moved over to Robin’s form, curled up under a heavy wool blanket to fight off the chill of the night in the deserts of Plegia, and lightly shook her shoulder. 

“Hey, Robin,” she started softly, grinning slightly. “It’s time to get up.”

It took a few tries, which is why she didn’t like being all that gentle with someone like her, but eventually Robin awoke with a soft groan. She sat up slowly, a hand on her belly while she covered her mouth with the back of her other hand. She looked quite pale if Lissa were to be honest… more so than usual. 

“You alright? Do you think you can march with us?” she quickly asked, checking Robin for a fever, which she did not find.

Robin gave her a lazy nod and set the hand that covered her mouth down and smiled at Lissa. “I will be fine… Thank you, though,” she sighed out as she ran a hand through her messy bed hair. She yawned softly and slowly crawled out of her cot. 

She couldn’t deny that she felt like utter shit once again, but she wasn’t about to let people know that. They needed her there with them and she was not about to let them down. But first… she needed to get Lissa out of the tent so that she could hide her small belly. She needed to get her belt around her waist, as she had taken it off so she could sleep comfortably, before she would dare take a step outside. 

“Tell everyone I’ll be there in a few minutes,” Robin said carefully with a small smile as she stared at Lissa, hoping the girl would leave her alone for a few minutes. 

“Alright… Just let us know if you don’t feel well,” Lissa started as she made her way over to the tent’s exit, knowing that Robin was quite awkward dressing or undressing in front of other women as odd as it was, “Nobody will hold it against you if you can’t join us!” she finished as she waved her goodbye and stepped out of the tent to give Robin some privacy. 

The three Shepherds that waited outside of the tent gave Lissa questioning glances to which Lissa answered with one of her charismatic grins. 

“She’ll be here in a few she said!” she chirped out happily as she left them to go find the other healers she was supposed to be with. Not to mention she could talk to Maribelle while she was waiting for the army to mobilize at last. Every woman needed her gal time every once in a while. 

“Of course… Why did I doubt her?” Chrom mused as he glanced at his wife and his long time friend. 

“It is only reasonable considering the state we last saw her in yesterday,” Frederick amended as he caught a brief glance of Sumia and Chrom sharing a quick kiss as Sumia bid him farewell in order to join Cordelia among the ranks of the Pegasus knights. A part of him wished he had something similar to what they had… but he screwed up his chances.

\----

Robin took a deep breath and quickly scurried around the tent to gather her belts and weapons for the battle. Gods, she hoped Libra had managed to prepare a brew for her because she truly felt awful. She was doing her best to hold back a retch or two as she struggled to put on her gear. 

Being pregnant in a war was probably the worst situation any woman could be in. That one romance novel she had read, that happened to ironically deal with the same situation she was in, never once spoke about how awful it was to be pregnant while in such a situation. It wasn’t just about hiding the belly, no, it was more than that… She was tempted to hunt down the writer and beat them upside the head with said book… 

This was no time to think about such ridiculous things! She needed to prepare for battle for Naga’s sake! With that in mind, she picked up the last few supplies she had prepared days before and slipped on her boots. Once she was done and was sure she had everything that she could potentially need for battle, she emerged from the tent and took a deep breath in an attempt to hold back her urge to vomit once more.

Thank the gods that she did because she did not expect to see Chrom and Frederick standing there waiting for her to emerge. 

“Ah… Chrom, Frederick,” she addressed each male happily, moving over towards them. “Is everything ready?”

“All is set, milady,” Frederick answered with a respectful nod to which Robin smiled in return. Good. He was an idiot but at least he was reliable for these things. “We are ready to mobilize as we speak.”

“Excellent, thank you, Frederick,” she sighed out as she glanced at the thousands of soldiers currently prepared to march to battle around them. They were all pretty determined and very few looked nervous or anxious. Her anxiety lessened just slightly at the sight… The chances of them losing now were pretty slim… unless Gangrel were to pull off a nasty, underhanded trick. 

Right as Chrom was about to speak to set the army in motion, Libra stepped into view, smiling brightly at them. 

“Pardon me,” Libra apologized quickly as he stopped right in front of them. It was then that they noticed that he carried a container and a few cups with him. “With such a stressful battle ahead of us, I thought it would be good for our soldiers to drink some tea to calm the nerves,” he explained as he motioned to the container in his hand and the cups. He glanced briefly at Robin as if telling her that he wasn’t about to let her go into battle without her tea. Robin was eternally grateful to him. 

“That’s very thoughtful of you, Libra,” Chrom said with a smile as he accepted a cup from Libra and had his tea poured. Frederick politely refused a cup for himself, but Robin supposed it was only fair considering this man functioned on high stress.

He handed Robin a cup that he had snuck some of the herbs for her morning sickness into and poured the warm water into it. “And one for our tactician of course,” Libra said with a slight humor to his tone. “Wouldn’t do us well if you were to suffer a panic attack in mid fight.”

Robin gave him a look and snorted softly. “I would never…” she huffed out as she sipped some of the tea and held back the urge to groan. It was like a miracle cure. Her nausea was gone in an instant. She downed the whole drink as quickly as she could and sighed happily. Now she could fight. Her head was now clear of any and all problems. 

Libra waited until Chrom and Robin finished their drinks, and then took the cups from them and set them down where he had gotten them. Robin took note how most of the soldiers also had received some tea to help them relax as well. She wanted to thank Libra after the battle because he went out of his way to get the tea to Robin while also not raising any suspicions as to why… This man was incredibly clever. 

“Well, after such a refreshing drink, I’d say we are all more than ready to march!” Chrom exclaimed feeling more invigorated than ever thanks to the drink they all just had.

Robin smiled and nodded firmly as she held the steel sword at her side a little tighter. Frederick then broke off from them after a quick farewell and yelled for the soldiers to advance while he fell into step with his unit of soldiers. Chrom and Robin hurried to join the rest, both positioned in the very front as they led the whole army towards the battleground they had selected for the fight to come. Robin swore this would be the last battle. Gangrel would be going down today. 

\----

They waited for the all clear from the Feroxi soldiers before they would go straight after King Gangrel and his few men. Emmeryn’s death had caused so much disarray within Gangrel’s army that it did not take long for said soldiers to plow through their ranks and clear a path for them. Even less time when the Ylissean soldiers joined their ranks and reinforced their army. 

“Gangrel’s up ahead, boy!” Basilio hollered as he reached Chrom’s side, grinning from ear to ear. Leave it to the Feroxi to be excited and eager in the middle of a battle. “We’ve got things over here!”  
Chrom nodded firmly before he glanced over to Robin at his side, “You sure you’ve got everything you need? There’s no turning back now.” 

Robin simply smiled at him and nodded. “Of course. Why would I strategize for three months and rush into battle unprepared?”

“Just saying,” Chrom mused as he turned to his Shepherds who were to lead the full brunt of their attack against Gangrel. “Listen up!” he began, pulling falchion out of the scabbard at his side and raised it as high as he could. To get their attention or to blind them, Robin did not understand the reason for it, but the sun was reflecting off the weapon at just the right angle and right into her eyes. Gods it was annoying… “This is it! Our final battle! We will not fall here, nor will we fail! The Mad King will pay for what he has done to the countless, innocent citizens of Ylisse and Plegia alike, as well as our exalt, Emmeryn!” 

“There will no longer be unrest, and pain amongst our people! We will bring peace of the likes we have never seen before! Where the only problems we’ll deal with are petty crimes and bandits! No more wars! No more hate!” Chrom added with so much power, Robin was quite moved. If she could feel it, the soldiers surely felt it.

For that he received a few cheers of determination as a couple more weapons joined in the sea of shiny, reflective surfaces that blinded Robin to no end. The battlefield was not the place for a pregnant woman that was for sure. Everything was so incredibly irritating… But she too was a bit excited, if not anxious. She wanted to be a part of this; to bring an end to this blasted war and bring happiness to countless of people. 

“Now let’s put an end to this war once and for all!” he yelled as he charged towards Gangrel and his men. Everyone joined after him, just as eager and determined as their leader was. Meanwhile Robin was a bit more cautious and calculative. She was the tactician. She could not let herself be swept by her emotions… plus she had to protect her child. 

King Gangrel meanwhile watched as his men and women were being defeated almost effortlessly by the Ylissean and Feroxi soldiers. And now the Shepherds were heading straight for him and his men.

“Damn those Ylissean dogs!” He hissed under his breath as his main army grouped around him in order to fend off against the charging Shepherds coming straight for them along with a few soldiers. “I will burn every last one of them, and then I shall mount the princeling’s head in full display in my personal mantle next to his sister’s corpse!” he proclaimed followed by maniacal laughter.

“Kill them!” he screeched as the Ylisseans entered the battlefield. “Kill every last one of them!” 

Robin watched as the mages, wyvern riders, barbarians, and sword fighters rushed towards them while Gangrel sat in the back, watching with that disgusting grin plastered on his face. How eager she was to wipe that grin off his face; she would bet on her life Chrom was thinking the same damn thing. When Robin focused her attention back towards the oncoming army, they were already on top of them. 

“Prepare yourselves! Don’t get separated!” someone, Robin could not place who’s voice it was, yelled over the battle cries of both armies. 

Then they clashed. 

Swords, lances, axes, and magic connected with equal the amount of power and force from the opposing army. It was clear this would be no easy feat… But it did help that they had a manakete and a taguel on their side so they at least could counter any surprises that could be thrown their way. 

Robin grunted as she fended off a barbarian that tried to sneak up on her with her sword. She shoved him away and slashed his abdomen clean open before she turned her attention to the next attacker: a sword fighter. She met his strike with her own and held the weapon at bay while she calculated her next move. She then sidestepped the fighter and pulled out an Elthunder tome from her coat and struck the man square on the chest with the spell. Before she had time to catch her breath, a wyvern rider descended upon her. She braced for the hit but it never connected as the wyvern was knocked back by a blast of wind. 

“Don’t worry about them! We’ve got them over here!” Ricken called out to Robin as he prepared another Elwind for another wyvern rider that was about to attack him. And by that he meant Chrom, Nowi, Tharja and himself would be the ones handling the sturdy wyverns and their riders. Robin sighed softly and nodded as she watched said people fend off the wyvern riders. “Robin, watch out!” Ricken warned just as he happened to glance back at Robin after he took care of the soldier and saw a hand axe flying through the air, heading straight for Robin. 

“Shit!” Robin swore quite loudly as she turned to face said axe, realizing then that it was far too close for her to counter or dodge. Her arms shot up instinctively to at least try and reduce the damage of the oncoming axe. But right as it almost hit her, she was slammed into by something hard and heavy. She grunted in pain as she fell onto the ground hard, and quickly looked up to face her attacker but she was quite surprised to see Kellam there.

“Kellam!” Robin cried out happily as she watched him dispatch the warrior that had thrown the axe with a javelin. She noted that he was unharmed so she assumed the axe probably bounced off his gigantic armor. “Thanks for the save!” she added as she stood up and gathered her bearings once more. This was why the main strategy was to stick together so that they could mutually protect each other from any surprise attacks.

“I’m just glad I made it in time,” Kellam mused as he stabbed another soldier with his lance as they rushed past him to get to her, his curse, or in this case blessing, working like usual. How did he do it? She didn’t really know, but she was glad she never had to worry about Kellam in her strategies… not that she would admit that to him any time soon. 

Robin tried to comment while she fought off another soldier that rushed for her, but her words were cut short as she heard Chrom’s call. “Mages!” he warned so that all soldiers who happened to not do well against magic, including him, tread carefully from here on out. 

Robin killed the soldier before her and quickly moved to assist Chrom. Right as she made it over to him, she had to shove him out of the way of an oncoming spell from a fire tome. “Heed your own warning!” she hissed at him as she patted her coat which had caught fire momentarily from the fire spell grazing her shoulder. 

Chrom sent a quick apologetic look her way before he was up and battling against more barbarians. Robin swore once more as another spell was shot her way and she barely managed to dodge it once again. Fine then. Two could play at this game. 

“Tharja! On me!” Robin called out to said female, knowing Tharja would go through hell and back for her. It unnerved her to no end, but right now she needed someone as devoted as her by her side. No sooner had she called her was the dark mage by her side, tome at the ready as she glowered at her enemies. “We’ve got to get rid of them!” 

“Consider it done,” Tharja purred darkly as she sent a blast of Elthunder at the line of mages several feet in front of them. Robin joined in the assault soon after.

Both were so caught up in the assault that they didn’t realize they had strayed away from the army and were currently exposed to any and all modes of attack. Robin was first to notice when she thought about getting someone who would land a physical attack on these guys, but realized she and Tharja were a few yards from the group. 

“Damn we’ve gotten separated,” Robin hissed under her breath as she fought off spell after spell. “We need to regroup-“ she tried to tell Tharja, but in that moment that she lost her focus, a spell went straight for her. It was much too large for her to dodge and much too close for her to counter. She would get hit with double the attack if she tried to blast it away with her own tome. She noted that it happened to be Elwind and knew that she had a slim chance of surviving a hit from that if she played her cards right… but her baby came first.

She did her best to keep the attack from hitting her directly on her belly as it slammed into her at full power. The air left her lungs before she even had the chance to brace herself, and the impact was far worse than she could have ever anticipated. She skidded across the field for several feet before she came to a stop. She didn’t move. She couldn’t move. She felt as if a knight slammed into her with all their armor on at full speed. She couldn’t even breathe at the moment. 

In the next instant, she had Tharja at her side and let out a pitiful groan in her attempt to speak. Once her thoughts were back in order, she felt the dread pooling in her stomach. Her baby. Oh gods her baby… Did it survive the hit? Her hand instinctively shot down over her belly as she struggled to catch her breath. Her ribs were probably bruised, fractured, or even broken because she could barely breathe. 

“Why did you do something so stupid?” Tharja hissed at her while she kept her eye on the battlefield. She must have gotten rid of the mages in a rage after that scene...Or at least that was what she hoped she did. “But it’s alright… You’re still alive, barely…” she muttered quietly to herself and even added a few other sentences that Robin couldn’t make out. 

“T-Tharja…” Robin coughed out, stopping the girl in her endless rabble. She heaved as she tried to breathe and squeezed her tiny bump gently. “Baby…” 

Tharja only seemed to grow confused at her statement. She thought Robin was referring to her as ‘baby’ at first, but Robin would never do that… Nor would she want her to. The way her named rolled off of Robin’s tongue was far too perfect a sound for her to want anything else. 

“Aww,” a female voice cooed a few feet in front of them. “Is Ylisse’s star tactician pregnant? What wonderful news!” 

Both Tharja and Robin turned their attention to whoever it was and Robin felt her body turn ice cold. There stood a mage, tome prepared and at the ready, right in front of them. Neither of them would be able to prepare their own attack before the mage would unleash her spell on them. Robin hissed under her breath, wanting to smack Tharja upside the head for letting her guard down to check on her. 

“Don’t worry, I’ll make sure your baby’s ripped out of you and displayed next to your corpse once I’m finished with you,” she finished sweetly with a malicious, wicked grin. 

Tharja didn’t hesitate to throw herself on top of Robin just as the mage went to release her spell on the both of them. Both Tharja and Robin braced for the searing, burning pain of the fire spell aimed towards them, but just as she almost released the tome’s attack, a lance impaled the mage and stopped her short of her attack. 

“Robin!” Frederick’s powerful call reached both their ears as he jumped off his horse and hurried over to their side. “Are you alright?” he asked quickly, cursing himself internally for not being there as he had told himself earlier that day. He had failed her once again and now she was injured!

“She’s alive,” Tharja answered for Robin who looked like she was finally catching her breath. 

“Have you got any elixirs on you?” Frederick questioned both girls who shook their heads. Robin had packed some but the containers were destroyed when she was blasted by the wind magic and Tharja… well Tharja had Nosferatu so she healed herself most of the time. 

After giving Robin a quick once over, Frederick sighed and handed Tharja an elixir to give to Robin. “She’s just bruised. Give this to her, I will keep the enemies at bay in the mean time,” he said quickly as he moved back to his horse and mounted it, surveying the thinning battlefield before them. They were winning; slowly and steadily. King Gangrel appeared to be blowing a fuse or two about that fact. 

True to his word, Frederick kept all the enemies at bay. He used any and all attacks, as well as weapons he managed to pull out of enemy corpses to use against another. Tharja never ceased to be amazed by this guy’s insane strength and durability. He was a monster in his own right. 

Frederick was absolutely furious with himself once again and was releasing his pent up anger on his enemies in a blind rage. He had told himself that he would keep Robin safe from harm in this battle and that was the least he did! She was injured, and he was not there to stop it! These damn Plegians would pay dearly for that… He would make sure of it. He will not take his eyes off of Robin now. This would be the last injury she received, on his word. 

Tharja took the elixir and quickly gave it to Robin to drink. “Here, drink quickly.” Robin didn’t waste another second to do so. Mostly because she saw the elixir come from Frederick’s satchel and not Tharja’s… If it had been Tharja’s, she would have been really concerned about the contents within the elixir. 

At last she managed to breathe. It took a couple coughs to have her lungs function properly, but she was soon up on her feet, thanks to Tharja’s help. She was currently cursing herself out softly for her stupidity. She had made it very clear that no one should be separated throughout this battle and she had been the first… Sure she had Tharja beside her but two people against a whole army were not the best of odds.

Tharja didn’t say anything and just waited until Robin managed to regain her balance and strength. Once Robin was standing on her own, Tharja prepared herself to join the fray… but one thing was bothering her…

“You’re pregnant?” she asked Robin over the noise of the battlefield. She saw Robin tense up slightly and her eyes shift to Frederick a few feet in front of them. 

“We can talk about that later…” Robin said quietly as her gaze met Tharja’s. “For now, keep it a secret… Please… for me?” she begged her quickly as she too prepared to continue the battle. 

Robin rarely asked anyone for favors, let alone told people secrets. For her to have Robin’s trust was… incredible. She felt invigorated. There was no way she could break Robin’s confidence in her. She gave Robin a firm nod, and one of her characteristically creepy smiles as a reply. But she made one thing clear… Whoever got her Robin pregnant would pay dearly.

“Thank you,” Robin sighed out and moved closer to Frederick to protect his back against any surprise attacks while Tharja helped destroy any and all who dared oppose them. 

It was in that moment that King Gangrel had lost his patience. 

He charged into battle, deciding that he would take care of everyone by himself since his soldiers were far too incompetent to do something right. Little did he know that his soldiers were actually great warriors, but their forces were far more superior. 

Robin predicted he would pull such a move and had strategized for it… She needed to get to Chrom first though. Then they could clash with Gangrel head on. A few of the shepherds sounded the alarm of Gangrel’s approach so that no one would be surprised by the Mad King. Robin searched the writhing masses of warriors for Chrom while she fought off Plegian soldiers as well. Who would have thought that spotting a full head of blue hair would turn out to be so difficult in the mayhem of a battle? 

Fortunately for Robin, her hair was much easier to spot in a battlefield and Chrom quickly made his way to her, or more like slashed his way through. “Robin!” he called out to her and she quickly spotted the blood soaked prince rushing towards her. She was startled by the amount of blood on him, but then realized that she too was just as bloodied. 

“If we cut Gangrel down, this battle will be over,” Robin stated quickly just as Chrom reached her side. “Some of these soldiers are fighting out of fear, rather than loyalty.” 

“Right,” Chrom said breathlessly as he eyed said king plow his way through their army. He eyed Robin and noticed how her clothes were slightly frayed and she had several cuts and bruises from what he could see behind all the blood on her. She looked exhausted, maybe even pained, but she was still standing and fighting. “Is the strategy still the same?” 

“Of course,” Robin breathed out as she turned towards Chrom with a small, tired grin. “Let’s end this.”

Chrom nodded and turned his attention to Frederick. “We’re going after Gangrel! You know what to do!” he said to his trusted lieutenant, who spared him a quick glance along with a nod. 

He and a few of the shepherds would move in to keep the enemy soldiers from helping Gangrel so that Robin and Chrom can take him down with no interruptions. Robin had assumed Gangrel would have some sort of magic on him so she wanted to be by Chrom’s side to protect him from any magical attacks… What she didn’t predict was that it was a Levin sword… Nothing too bad, but it was not a tome. 

After finishing off the few mages that were left before him, Frederick moved to guide the other shepherds to their respective positions. He had made sure there were absolutely no soldiers around Robin before he had done so of course. Robin was quite surprised when she realized there were no soldiers around her and Chrom once Frederick had left. It didn’t take long for Frederick and the Shepherds to block off the other enemy soldiers from reaching Gangrel in case they tried to bring in support.

Before Gangrel had a chance to attack any of the Shepherds or the Ylissean/Feroxi soldiers, Robin and Chrom jumped in and blocked him from doing so. 

“Gangrel!” Chrom snarled out, glaring daggers at the Mad King. Robin had never seen so much hatred behind Chrom’s eyes until today, it was quite frightening… “Your reign ends today!” 

Gangrel laughed at that for a moment but then growled in irritation. “What makes you so sure about that, princeling?” he snapped while grinning like mad. “You’re turning out to be much like your father! You’ll never be like your foolish sister who so readily believed peace! You’ll just solve every problem with blood with even more blood!” 

Chrom felt stung by those words because they were somewhat true, but no. He had his friends to back him up and keep him from going down such a dark path. “While I may never be like my sister, I will also never be like you or my father!” he countered back, falchion at the ready. “Sometimes an evil is necessary to bring happiness to countless of innocent people! Long have you oppressed your people with your hate! Take a look around you, Gangrel! Your own men don’t want to fight this war anymore!” 

“Stop spouting nonsense, boy! You’ll only get yourself hurt! Not that I would mind,” Gangrel snapped with a laugh.

“Ah… he ran out of big words,” Robin muttered quietly to Chrom, trying not to smile. Chrom, on the other hand, didn’t hide his. 

“You can’t reason with someone known as a mad king,” Chrom offered and prepared himself for the attack Gangrel will unleash. 

“True,” Robin mused, her tome at the ready for any lightning bolts that may be shot out of the Levin sword at any moment. 

Gangrel must have either heard, or assumed what they were saying for he grew quite irritated. He yelled and rushed for Chrom, releasing a bolt of thunder his way, to which Robin countered easily for Chrom. Chrom met him halfway and their swords clashed against one another. Robin kept an eye on both Chrom and her comrades. While she was concerned whether or not her child survived the hit earlier, she could not afford to let her comrades suffer for her absence in the battlefield. They needed her to help if any situation were to get more difficult than she had initially suspected. 

\----

It had taken a good hour to bring down Gangrel. There were way too many close calls for Chrom but he succeeded in his mission. The moment falchion pierced through Gangrel’s chest felt as if a shockwave coursed through the whole battlefield, stopping everyone in the midst of their attack. Everyone slowly turned to watch as Gangrel’s lifeless body fell to the ground, blood and other substances spilling out of his body once falchion was pulled out of the corpse. 

“You did it,” Robin breathed out, eyes wide as she stared at the lifeless body of Gangrel. 

Chrom sheaved falchion after wiping the blood off of it and held his arm where it had been sliced. It had been an injury that was much too close and too deep, but it had not stopped Chrom too much in the battle… that is until now. Robin had kept most of the magical attacks from hitting Chrom as she had planned and was quite relieved she hadn’t let anyone down. 

“I suppose so,” Chrom sighed out as he watched the enemy lay down their arms and surrender to them. “I didn’t think it would feel this bitter, though.” 

Before Robin could respond, Basilio and Flavia approached. “War can be bitter sweet sometimes, boy,” he said once he reached them and patted his shoulder. A pat from Basilio was more of a bone shattering slap unfortunately and Chrom looked ready to cave.

Robin smiled slightly at the interaction and glanced back towards her friends to see if they were all okay. A few were injured but she did not see anyone dead at least. She did spot Libra heading straight for her and she moved away from Flavia and Basilio’s chitchat with Chrom for a moment to meet him half way. 

“Are you alright? Did you take any hits?” Libra asked the instant he was within her earshot. Robin’s slight solemn look wasn’t the response he wanted. “Where’d you get hit?” he asked quickly as he glanced at her body for any gaping wounds, but he found none. 

“I got hit by Elwind…” she answered with a soft sigh and wrapped her arms around herself, trying to keep herself calm as to not alert anyone as the rest of the shepherds approached to meet with Chrom and just to see their long time friends alive and well… even the friends they have just barely met. “I don’t even know if it’s alive…” she added quietly, a worried, defeated look on her features. Had she lost her future, her baby?

“Let me take a look…” Libra muttered quietly as he acted as if he were checking her for injuries everywhere as to not bring suspicion before his hand slowly made its way to her belly. He used his magic to sense for the baby and sure enough, he found it. “It appears to be okay, thankfully, but definitely keep an eye on it for the next several weeks just in case,” he informed her as he moved to check her legs to keep up his act. 

Robin almost cried at the news but she managed to keep herself together as Libra continued to check her body. She almost wanted to laugh at his antics. Libra was an honorable man so keeping this a secret was probably killing him on the inside, but he still honored her wishes and went out of his way to keep it so. It was almost comical how dedicated he was to this.

“Well you seem to be doing great, Robin!” Libra proclaimed loudly with a smile as he straightened up and squeezed her shoulder. “Just a couple cuts and bruises.”

“Thank you, Libra,” Robin giggled out, rolling her eyes at the awful acting. But she was glad to know her child was fine… so far at least. It was quite a relief. 

“We did it!” Lissa squealed as she ran towards Robin and gave her a tight hug. “Everything went according to plan!” 

The other Shepherds moved towards Robin and seemed to be just as happy about it all. Miriel, Panne, Lon’qu, Virion thanked her politely while Vaike almost tackled her when Lissa let her go. Robin squealed as she was briefly lifted up into the air before being set down again and having her hair tousled by Sully right after. 

“You did it!” Nowi cheered as she also went and gave Robin a quick hug while giggling as Ricken and Donnel also said their praises. 

“Gregor is most happy you are very smart! Otherwise Gregor would be dead!” Gregor laughed while Robin mentally agreed with him. He truly would have died with how… well… how he is. 

“I’m glad nothing bad happened to you,” Kellam added, once again startling everyone, but Robin smiled brightly as she located him. Like usual, he had been right in front of them the whole time. 

“You look like shit, Bubbles, but I’m glad you’re alive,” Gaius added as he approached her with a grin. He must have ran out of candy for he had none in his mouth. Robin simply shook her head and smacked his shoulder playfully before turning her attention to everyone. 

“Of course,” Robin spoke, smiling brightly now. “I had you guys to motivate me and keep me safe! I’m just glad everyone is okay…” 

“There will never be a tactician as great as you, Robin, have some faith in yourself!” Flavia exclaimed as she joined in the fray of praises while Basilio and Chrom joined soon after along with Olivia, Stahl, and Maribelle who must have been tending to any wounded on the battlefield. “That was the most flawless battle we had ever fought in!” 

“It’s true, even if we have lost many good men and women, it could not have gone any smoother,” Basilio added with a soft sigh as he ran a hand over his bald head. Robin had been tempted to do the same many times before, but she had refrained from doing so… but gods it was just so shiny and smooth…

Sumia and Cordelia returned with Frederick soon after with an official report of the amount of casualties in the battle. While they did lose a lot of soldiers, it truly went rather well for a war that should have cost them thousands of lives instead of a few hundreds. 

“We shall honor the dead tonight,” Chrom sighed out with a small sad smile. “But they will be happy to know that the war is over… Surely that would grant them peace.”

“And have a few drinks as well?” Flavia added after a few minutes to which she got a sharp scolding from Basilio, but she just laughed it off. 

“I say we honor the dead and celebrate the living,” Robin added as she glanced at Frederick for a moment. Everyone agreed to her statement and set off to gather the bodies of their fallen friends and comrades and prepare for the burials. 

Robin could not help but stare at Frederick’s back as he went to join his comrades to pick up the dead. It slowly had dawned on her that she needed to speak to him… 

She couldn’t avoid him anymore and the thought of telling him her secret scared her immensely.


	7. The Discussion

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Woooooo finally updated this ;D; sorry guys i was caught up with school and art commissions... I will apologize also because I spent about two weeks wrestling whether i should go with my original plot or change it... so I went with the original XD 
> 
> I apologize if anyone is out of character :') I just wanted this out today

Or at least that was what she had wanted and planned to do a few weeks ago. 

She currently sat in her borrowed chambers inside the castle in Ylisstol muttering to herself. She could not believe it had been two weeks after the war ended and she had yet to speak to Frederick. At first she had a few good reasons for it. For example: burying the dead took a few days, celebrating took a couple more days, and the trek back to Ylisstol took another couple days. Because of these events, Robin had told herself, she could not speak to him just yet. It would be appropriate that she speak with him once they have all settled down in the comforts of the castle; at least that was what she had thought. 

But now it had been a few days since they’ve done so. Everyone was settling back in and getting comfortable in their chambers once more; everyone except for Robin that is. To Robin it was not much of a comfort. She felt overwhelmed in fact. She had never been within the halls of the castle long enough to get acclimated with the environment. She felt lost and thought that she may be a nuisance to the servants of the castle considering she had little idea where anything was and kept barging into places she was not supposed to. None happened to be the men’s bathing chambers, at least. The gods had been pleasantly merciful with her. 

It was now that she came to realize that she had just been putting it all off with convenient excuses. That was what they all were: excuses. She needed to tell Frederick she was with child; his child. She had no other reason to hide any longer… plus her child was growing ever bigger and her bump was much more noticeable now than ever. It was not enough to cause immediate alarm, but the fact was that Robin could see it if she happened to glance in the mirror for just a split second with little to no gear on. 

“Come on, Robin,” she breathed out, staring at her own image being reflected onto the glass surface of the castle’s gleaming windows within her chambers. “You can’t keep running away… The baby’s ever growing; you will not be able to hide it for much longer,” she added with a mighty sigh as she rubbed said bump. She then promptly fell back onto the bed and glared at the ceiling in frustration. 

How should she even bring the topic up anyway? She could not just go up to him and immediately tell him she’s pregnant, no; that will be too sudden… She had to break the news carefully to him, but how? 

Gods this was just too complicated for her despite the fact that coming up with solutions to difficult situations was her forte. It’s not like there was anything that could complicate the conversation at all… In fact, everyone was preparing for Chrom’s ceremony to take Emmeryn’s place as Exalt so the chances of someone stumbling upon them speaking would be quite slim. The only unfortunate thing about that is that _everyone_ was busy with preparations… and by everyone that means Frederick as well. But Robin could not think of another perfect opportunity to speak with him… She just needed to find out where he was located in the castle. 

She heaved another sigh and turned to face the wall in her endless debate, only to jump out of her skin when someone knocked on her door. 

“Uh… who is it?” Robin called out as she stood up and pretended to act as if she were planning out the ceremony like she was supposed to be doing all this time. Truth be told she had already prepared it, she just needed to turn it in. She also slipped on her heavy robe so that she could cover her womb if need be. 

A voice soon followed in response, “It’s Libra. I wanted to speak with you before I head out on my pilgrimage to Naga’s shrine.” 

Robin relaxed then and smiled. “I see… Come on in then,” she prompted lightly. Said man stepped into the room and apologized for the intrusion while Robin waved him lightly. “So what is it that you want to speak about?”

“I feel like you know what I have in mind,” Libra offered with a small frown caressing his unnaturally beautiful features. At that Robin promptly glanced at the floor, knowing what was coming next. “You really should speak with the father, Robin. It’s been long enough and you said you would settle this once the war is over. Forgive me for saying this, but if you haven’t noticed, the war’s been over for several weeks now.”

“I know, I know!” Robin cut in quickly and glared at the floor. “I know I need to speak with him, but I just… I don’t know how… I will figure it out, I assure you.”

“I would do it before the baby becomes more noticeable than it already is,” Libra added, glancing at Robin’s belly which was starting to become more noticeable, more so than when she was just two months pregnant… She was almost four months along now and no amount of layers would be able to hide it soon enough. 

Robin groaned and placed a hand on the developing child, “Is it really that obvious? I was hoping I was simply overreacting…”

“Well you’re not exactly fully dressed at the moment, that may be why,” Libra eased carefully, trying to calm Robin’s nerves a little since she appeared horrified over the news. 

“I am fully dressed!” Robin cried out, pulling her shirt forward to emphasize the fact. She wore her usual shirt and baggy pants but she did not have the waistband and belts on. 

“I meant with your full gear. The bump is noticeable with just your shirt on,” which to Libra was definitely surprising considering Robin did wear an oversized shirt. For the womb to be noticeable through it meant it was much bigger than what he was able to see.

“I can’t walk around fully armored every single day!”

“That is true.”

“Gods… what do I do?” Robin cried softly as she rubbed her face with her hands in her exasperation. 

“Speak with the father for one and all your worries would be gone.” 

Robin glared daggers at Libra then and slapped her hands on her thighs, growing more exasperated by the minute. “Thanks, Libra. That _really_ helps.” 

“You can’t deny that it’s the truth,” Libra countered, challenging her glare with one of his own. He tired of all this sneaking around. He was fine with some secrets but this? A child? This was a secret that should not be kept! 

Robin sighed and rubbed at her temple. After a few minutes of this, she sighed again and glanced up at Libra, her eyes filled with a determination that he had not seen in them before in weeks. “Would you help me one last time before you leave?”

“If it will make you speak with the father faster, I am more than willing to grant you your request,” Libra replied, his interest piqued. 

“Right… well… Could you secure a private room so that I may speak with the father of my child undisturbed?” Robin asked lightly while she fidgeted with the sleeves of her robe. “If you are able to do so now, that would be most ideal. If I were to wait any longer, I’ll more than likely push it off to another day and never address this growing concern.” 

Libra was overjoyed to know that Robin was ready and willing to speak to the man of the hour… or should he say months? His soul felt light once more after months of keeping this dreaded secret from everyone. Perhaps he still had some hope to be in Naga’s good graces once again. 

“I would be more than happy to. I’ll let you know when I find a room available for the two of you. Now go and find him. The sooner you get this over with, the better you’ll feel. All this stress isn’t good for the baby, after all.” 

And with that he excused himself and left Robin to her endless self-doubting vices. She groaned softly and rubbed at her face in an attempt to relieve the stress and anxiety that were currently building up in her chest and migrating to her head. She felt like she couldn’t breathe but this had gone on long enough. She would rather face her fears now before she would end up making Libra suffer and repent for years to Naga for his sinful promise to her… Poor guy looked as if he was already losing his mind and his patience. It’s only a matter of time before he loses it… Robin doubted not even Naga could save them from Libra then. It’s as they say: it’s always the quiet ones.

To prevent all this, she needed to speak to Frederick and to do so she needed to find out where he was at. Unfortunately she had little to no idea where the man could possibly be. Thankfully she did know that there was probably one person in the whole castle that may have an idea of where Frederick is or at least know the man’s schedule enough to predict where he could possibly be… 

\-----

Frederick was also in the same situation as Robin was. Except for one little issue…

He had been trying to speak with Robin ever since the war ended, but every time he tried to speak with her, he was either pulled aside to perform some menial task, or Robin was pulled aside to do the same. And  
whenever that was not the case, Robin would simply backtrack and escape before he could take two steps towards her. 

It was evident to Frederick that she may have been avoiding him and it frustrated him beyond measure. He wanted to set things right and speak to Robin about everything. He wanted to tell her how awful he felt knowing that he had hurt her without meaning to, how much he loved and adored her, and even how badly he wanted to embrace her and never let her go. The urge to tell her this grew ever stronger every day and he was beginning to think that he may just end up yelling at the top of his lungs that he loved her if this continued to be prolonged. 

But no, he could not simply just do something like that. If he told her he loved her, it was guaranteed that he would receive a slap to the face. If he put himself in Robin’s shoes and thought about he himself walking up to her and telling her he loved her without warning, his only logical response to such a claim was to slap himself. It would be like rubbing salt into a wound that had yet to be treated properly. He needed to treat the wound first before he even thought about confessing to her. 

Unfortunately for him there was not a lot he could do today as he was busy organizing the soldiers to figure out where to place them before the ceremony. He doubted anyone would try to do anything during the ceremony, but one could not be too careful; especially during these trying times after the war. 

He was a bit frustrated by the fact that he had yet to speak to Robin, but it’s not like she would disappear any time soon. He could speak to her when the time is right and when he’s free. Perhaps during the night they may have more chances to speak… He doubted Robin ever went to bed early since she was always so terribly tired in the mornings…

“Sir?” a soldier addressed him carefully, looking a little anxious that he spoke up to Frederick without permission. 

Frederick snapped out of his thoughts and nodded firmly at the soldier, “What is it?”

“We’re still waiting on your word. We have no assignment yet, sir,” the soldier answered again, this time with a little more confidence since Frederick did not reprimand him. 

At the statement, Frederick seemed a little taken aback. Had he been so caught up in his thoughts that he had momentarily abandoned his job? This was unacceptable of him! His men and women were probably worried for him, and that was something he never wanted for his comrades to feel. He was never supposed to have any problems. He was supposed to be Frederick; an unstoppable force with little to no weaknesses!

“Ah… I apologize,” Frederick said quickly and assigned a job for the soldier and his other comrades.

It took him a couple of minutes to sort everything out, but once he was done he felt utterly exhausted. There was just so much he had to say that he had been holding in for far too long. It was starting to wear him down. He felt and probably looked much older than he was. It aggravated him beyond belief that he had become emotionally and mentally weak for the past couple months. This was unlike him… 

“You look worn down, lieutenant,” Cordelia commented as she made her way over to Frederick, watching the soldiers preparing the supplies they’ll need. “Is everything alright?” 

“No,” Frederick admitted, tired of lying about how he truly felt for once. This was one of the many steps he had to take to heal: admitting that he’s not fine. “I’ve felt terrible for quite some time, but it’s nothing of concern.”

“You say that, but I can’t help but feel concerned,” she mused, smiling lightly at him, though she was clearly troubled by his outward appearance. “Do you wish to speak of it?” 

“I appreciate the thought, but like I said, it’s nothing of concern. My problems will be solved soon enough, I’m sure,” Frederick offered with a sigh, running a hand through his hair which appeared to be something he had been doing often considering the state of his hair. 

“Perhaps you should rest for a few days? Working while troubled must be putting a strain on your health,” Cordelia offered, her small smile turning into a frown. 

Frederick shook his head and offered one of his usual smiles. “I will be fine, Cordelia.”

“Are you sure?”

“Positively so,” Frederick answered, turning away from her to do something else and not talk about his situation any longer. This was a private matter. While he truly appreciated the concern, he didn’t want anyone to worry so much for him.

Cordelia sighed quietly and watched the man go inspect the weapons like he usually did. Maybe it might be a good idea to bring it up to Chrom that Frederick is not well. If there’s anyone that can stop Frederick from working, it had to be Chrom. 

\----

Speaking of, Chrom seemed to have become the solution to every problem in existence. They ranged from the people of Ylisse’s problems to his own teammates’ problems. It was all very exhausting and if it wasn’t for Sumia’s constant support and endless supply of baked pies, he would have probably gone insane by now. 

“I knew being the Exalt was a difficult job, but…” Chrom started while he laid his head on Sumia’s lap for comfort while they relaxed in the garden for a moment. “I’m not even officially the Exalt and I’m already so busy! My sister was a saint!” 

Sumia giggled softly as she ran her hands through his hair lovingly. “It really has kept you busy… But I’m sure you’ll get used to it soon enough. And then you’ll be able to train once again on your least busy days!”

Chrom glanced up at Sumia for a moment, exhausted, and sighed while he smiled tiredly at his wife. “You make it sound easy, Sumia.” 

“W-Well I didn’t say it would be easy!” Sumia quickly stuttered out in a panic. In her distress, she ended up entangling his hair around her ring and pulled a couple strands of his hair back harshly by accident. “O-oh no! I’m sorry!” 

Chrom yelped and rubbed at the spot she had accidentally pulled at. “D-don’t worry about it… Accidents happen...” Such as walking in on Robin bathing for example… That was an accident he wished to never repeat for he feared what manner of contraption Robin would chuck at him next. 

“A kiss on the head might help ease it,” Robin’s voice made its way to Chrom and Sumia as she approached them, smiling brightly at them. “You two have been so affectionate lately it’s kind of gross,” she added playfully as she scrunched up her nose.

Chrom sat up then and glared at his best friend with no real malice behind it, but rather amusement. “Is that jealousy I hear?” 

“Maybe,” Robin stated flatly, though she was still smiling. She couldn’t help but he happy for Chrom and Sumia. They really were perfect for each other now that she had the chance to witness their relationship properly in the castle and not in a battlefield. They were both impeccably clumsy with just about everything, and that to her said all that she needed to know.

Sumia giggled softly to herself at the silly interaction and glanced up at Robin. “What are you here for? You’re usually in the library.”

“Maybe she ran out of books to read already,” Chrom added.

Robin blushed softly at Sumia’s comment of her being in the library often, but glared at Chrom’s. Being in the library was all she ever did in the castle whenever she wasn’t needed. She pulled at her waist belt a little, worried it might have ridden up in the time she had made it there. Not like it did, but Robin was quite paranoid now with her larger belly.

“I need to speak with Frederick,” Robin blurted out quickly, her blush becoming worse at how desperate she sounded. Now they’ll know something was up. 

“Is there something wrong?” Chrom was first to ask with concern, his eyes narrowed. He had never heard that tone in Robin’s voice before…

“Uh… No. It’s just something I need to discuss with him,” Robin alleviated quickly, grinning sheepishly. “Would you happen to know where he’s at?” 

“He’s usually training...” Chrom trailed off, trying to remember what it was Frederick was working on for the day. 

“Was he not working on assembling the guard for the ceremony?” Sumia piped in quickly, eager to be of help to her husband and his tactician. 

“Ah, yes! Thank you, Sumia,” Chrom exclaimed in relief. “If I remember right, that’s taking place in the indoor arena.”

Robin did not even respond to him, staring at him in pure confusion. “The castle has an indoor arena?” 

“…Yes?” 

Sumia couldn’t help but laugh at Robin’s expression. Clearly she had no idea such a place existed within the castle. She then explained to Robin how she can get there using the library as the main reference point since she assumed that was one of the few rooms Robin knew well enough. 

“Oh… I’ve got it! Thank you!” Robin exclaimed happily, not wanting to disturb the couple any longer than she needed to. 

“You sure you don’t need a guide?” Chrom mused to which Robin glared at him.

“I’m not hopeless,” Robin scoffed and turned on her heel. “I will be going now! Don’t stay out too late!” 

“I wonder why she needs to speak with Frederick so urgently?” Sumia mumbled out loud after a few minutes, raising an eyebrow as she watched Robin’s retreating form. 

“I do wonder why…” Chrom mumbled, “She seemed a little desperate… But I never saw any tension between them during the war…”

“Well this is Robin and Frederick we’re talking about… They’re skilled at hiding their true emotions,” Sumia offered, turning her attention back to Chrom. “Whatever it is, they’ll figure it out.”

“… I hope you’re right,” Chrom sighed out, falling back onto her lap. Frederick was a stubborn and sometimes clueless man. If what concerned Robin had to do with Frederick, things might not go all that smoothly. 

Just as they were settling back into each other’s company, Cordelia strode up to them, concern lining her features. Chrom tried his hardest not to sigh out loud as he waited to hear what troubled the red haired pegasus knight. 

“Pardon me, milord,” Cordelia said hastily as she fidgeted with the lance she carried. “I need to bring up something of immediate concern…”

“What would that be?” Chrom inquired, wondering just what it was that trouble Cordelia so. He had to admit that of all of his comrades, Cordelia was not one who happened by him often. So whatever it was she was here for had to be important.

“It’s Frederick… Something’s been bothering him immensely and I worry for his health…” 

Now Chrom and Sumia were even more concerned. Frederick was unwell? And Robin was looking for him to speak about something? Just what exactly was going on? It had to be something serious if Frederick was being affected the way that Cordelia seemed to believe. They may need to get to the bottom of this if whatever it was continued…

\-----

Robin made her way over to the library, as indicated by Sumia, to be her starting point. She huffed quietly once she made it to the library. She was starting to lose the courage she had built up earlier. She was tempted to just walk in there and read more books, but no, she had a pressing matter to deal with… literally. The baby was quite literally pressing on the walls of her womb as it continued to grow.

Her nerves were beginning to spike up once again and she wanted nothing more than to run back into her room and hide. She was just so nervous to speak about this with Frederick. She didn’t want to ruin his chances of finding the woman of his dreams just because she had his child… Not to mention all the things the people will say about him! He could never show his face in Ylisstol once the secret’s out! Nor could she, but she honestly could not care less.

There’s also the fact that when the child is born, the people might even say awful things about it! The people could say all they wanted about her, but she’ll be damned if they ever said a thing about Frederick and her child… especially her child. She doubted she could control herself if she ever heard someone say something bad about her baby… Or around her baby for that matter. 

“There you are,” Libra spoke up as he walked up to Robin. “I have secured a place a few doors down from the armory that you may privately speak in.”

Robin turned to face the male and shuddered nervously, “Oh, you did?” To which Libra responded to by simply staring at her as if he were debating whether it be a good idea to speak or be quiet. “Right… I suppose it’s time to find _him_ …” 

Her nerves only grew worse at the thought. How would she be able to convince Frederick to speak with her? He was probably too caught up in his work to move anyway. Would she even be able to tell him everything? What if she panics and does not say everything that she needs to say? 

She began feeling nauseous then and leaned heavily against the wall for support. She took a few deep breaths to fight off the building nausea within her, and cursed quietly. She couldn’t wait to be done with this pregnancy. The worst part of it all is that from what she had read in the library, she’ll only start to feel worse as the pregnancy continues and the baby grows larger… From back pains, to swollen feet, swollen, painful breasts… Gods she didn’t want to deal with any more than this. 

“Will you be alright?” Libra asked then, feeling a little concerned for her now. He wanted her to speak with the father quite urgently, but he definitely didn’t want her to faint on him. Maybe it’s too soon for Robin… He doubted she had prepared herself mentally these past few weeks.

Robin snapped out of it then, and smiled weakly at Libra. “I better be,” she offered with a small, weak laugh as she straightened up and took a deep breath. With that she started walking in the direction Sumia had directed her towards so she could find the indoor arena. Libra stood there and watched her go, secretly asking Naga for assistance in this before he too turned away and went on his way to being his pilgrimage. 

\----

It was several minutes before Robin began to wonder if maybe she was lost. It was all endless hallways and doors that led to Naga knew where. She couldn’t even hear a single soul, nor saw a single servant passing by her. Maybe she had taken the wrong turn? Perhaps it might be best if she would turn around and see if she can find someone that can lead her towards the indoor arena… She felt rather hopeless and maybe she should have taken Chrom up on the offer earlier. 

Just as she was beginning to lose all hope and really consider turning back around, she started to hear heavy footsteps heading her way. Hope swelled up in her chest that she may have found signs of life in the abysmal castle. Perhaps whoever this was could offer her some guidance… If this was even a person. Could be a demon for all she knew.

The hope that swelled up in her chest collapsed when the person came into view. Of all the people she could have possibly ran into... She wasn’t ready. 

The person then noticed her and looked surprised to find her there. “Robin? Quite a surprise to see you in this part of the castle,” they said as they stopped in front of her. 

She wasn’t ready. Gods how she wasn’t ready… 

Why did it have to be Frederick of all people to come her way? She was still building up courage to speak with him, but now she had to face him without any mental preparation. She could have sworn she was about to cry with how anxious she had become in only just a matter of seconds. 

“Robin?” Frederick repeated with a worried tone. She looked ill… 

Robin very carefully moved her hands, in such a slow motion that Frederick grew a little unnerved, and then promptly slapped her cheeks between her hands as hard, and as fast as she could. Frederick’s hands shot up and took a hold of hers, quickly pulling them away from her face as gently as he could, but with an urgency to his action. 

“Gods, Robin, what are you doing?!” He demanded quickly, staring at the red marks she ended up leaving on her cheeks. Besides the alarming self-induced injury, she appeared to be a lot better now. 

“Er… Sorry, I just needed to get a grip of myself,” Robin replied at last, feeling a little embarrassed by her outburst, and also because of the fact that Frederick was still firmly holding her hands in his. 

Frederick simply stared at her as if she grew two heads and raised a judgmental, yet slightly curious eyebrow her way. Robin stared at the perfectly arched eyebrow for a few minutes before she mustered the courage to say what was on her mind. 

“…I need to speak to you, Frederick,” she said slowly and evenly, reminding herself internally that she needed to calm down before her nervous heart would collapse. “If… if you have the time that is…” 

“As do I, Robin,” Frederick agreed and glanced over his shoulder for a moment with a deep frown on his features. “I, unfortunately, have all the time in the world. Milord has relieved me of my duties for the day…” 

“He did?” Robin asked curiously, wondering why that was. Frederick was always happiest when he was busy working, so what may have sparked Chrom to think otherwise?

Frederick did not respond but simply stared at Robin for a few seconds. Gods how he wanted to hold her! She was just so beautiful in her own way. It was in his deep revere for her that he remembered that he still held her hands and promptly released them, clearing his throat carefully. 

“So what is it that you would like to speak about?” he asked then, placing his hands behind his back like usual.

Robin stuttered to reply to him then. ‘Oh you know, just that I’m pregnant. With your child’ wouldn’t be the right thing to say… She’d probably give him a heart attack from the shock.

After a few tries, she sighed and gave up. “…Just come with me… it’s something of importance that you alone must know… For now that is.”

“For now?” Frederick repeated but Robin turned promptly on her heel and began walking away from him. After a few feet between them, Robin turned to glare at him as if to say, ‘follow me, damn it.’ That look was all he needed to quickly follow her to wherever it was she was leading him. Hopefully not to murder him for what he had done to her…

Dread was building up in each of their hearts as they wondered how they should speak to each other. How should they bring the topic up? Would they be forgiven for what they’ve done? Frederick had no idea Robin’s issue was greater than what he thought had been bothering her all this time, while Robin had little concern over the issue they had months ago and was frankly more concerned about breaking the news of their child. Of the two, Robin seemed to have the shorter end of the stick.

Robin took a deep breath as she found the room that Libra had informed her of and opened the door a bit hesitantly. She then entered the room and waited for Frederick to do the same as she sat down on a windowsill in the room. It was quite a cozy little room; looked to be an old storage room that nobody really seemed to have used in years. There was old, dusty furniture along with paintings with the occasional armor and weapons piled here and there. Frederick entered and closed the door behind him, feeling a little nervous with the setting she had set up for them to talk in. Could they have just talked outside like normal people? What would people think if they exit an empty room in a quiet part of the castle? Nothing good that’s for sure.

Robin meanwhile was struggling to come up with words to explain to him that she was pregnant. She knew it would be bad if she just blurted it out, but she had no other bright ideas on how to bring it up. Perhaps she really should just flat out tell him about it. Just as she was about to say it, Frederick spoke up awkwardly. 

“Robin… There’s been something I’ve had to tell you for several months now that I regret not telling you sooner,” Frederick began. “I’ve tried to before, but you were not too eager to discuss it. Unfortunately I can no longer keep this to myself and I must speak about what happened that day between us. If you could just grant me permission to speak, I will be most grateful to you.” 

Robin was stunned to silence at how formal Frederick began his speech. She wished she had half the nerve that Frederick had right at this moment. Though quite frankly she did not want to speak about that occasion ever again, but he had asked for her compliance and she would feel bad if she didn’t let him say what had been on his mind. If it had lasted for months, it must be something important. 

“Very well… What is it that you want to talk about that?” Robin asked hesitantly, frowning slightly. “I thought you said all you had to say about that in the morning after the fact,” she stated flatly with a bit of anger behind her voice. She didn’t want to behave like this on this day that she had waited so long for, but she could not control the agitation that grew in her chest. It was as if Frederick was squeezing her heart in his hand and twisting it mercilessly. Why must he bring this up when she’s already so pent up and anxious about telling him of the fact that he was going to be a father?

Frederick seemed to flinch at her flat statement and had to close his eyes to regain his composure just slightly. He took a deep breath as he prepared to say what he had wanted to say to her ever since the day he realized the pain he had caused her. He truly hoped he would do this right… He’d practiced for months in his head and he’ll be damned if he screws this up.

“I’m sorry, Robin,” Frederick began. “I’m so sorry about everything I said to you that day…” 

He was not off to a great start with the look Robin was giving him, but he was not about to lose his nerves now. This was his chance to speak and tell her everything. 

“I lied that day-“ 

“What do you mean you lied?” Robin snapped then, bewilderment on her features. “You said clearly that what had transpired between us was nothing more than an accident sparked by our grief after Emmeryn’s death and nothing more. That there is _nothing_ between us,” Robin added crudely, narrowing her eyes at him. 

Hearing those words hurt Frederick immensely, but he knew he had to bear it. He hurt her and this was what he would have to endure in order to help her heal after months of feeling the way that she had. 

“I…” Frederick tried again, but lost his train of thought. He took a deep breath and rubbed at his temple. “Truth is, Robin, I was scared.” 

“Scared?” 

“Please just let me speak,” Frederick said exasperated, his hand trailing up to push his hair back away from his face. “I keep losing what I was going to say every time you interrupt me…” 

Robin was a little annoyed by that statement but she motioned for him to continue, leaning against the wall the window was placed on carefully. “Alright then, I’m all ears.” 

He seemed to not believe her one bit, but he tried again regardless. 

“Right… As I said, I was scared. Scared of what our actions would lead to,” Frederick explained awkwardly, but he could see that Robin did not understand what he was trying to get at. “Robin, I’ve only ever known about taking care of milord and milady. I even admit that I barely take care of myself properly… I was afraid that after that, you and I would have had a relationship and I would not have known how to take care of you as a man properly should. I’m not even sure that I know what love even is really. I was afraid that I would not love you the way you would like to be. I’m just not the right person for such things. I… Look, Robin, I didn’t mean to say those words to you. I never thought about how they would have made you feel…”

Robin stared at the floor between them, a deep frown set on her features. She could understand where he was coming from a little bit. She herself doubted she knew how to love since she had no recollection of her past whatsoever. Even then she had an idea of what it all was from reading books and observing the people around her. Then again this was Frederick she was dealing with, he barely understands the concept of relaxing.

“I know this all probably sounds quite farfetched to you, but what I tell you now is the truth…” Frederick whispered then, his frown becoming ever deeper. “And I’m truly sorry for what I said. I should have picked my words out more carefully…” 

“Alright, so you’re sorry,” Robin started; now fixing her gaze on Frederick once more. “But you’re only sorry because what you said was harsher than you meant. That still doesn’t change the fact that there’s nothing between us, right?” she demanded then, feeling a deep rage building up in her chest once more. She did not know why considering Frederick was giving her a proper apology and she should therefore be elated to finally hear those words… but something just wasn’t adding up. 

“Well that’s not quite right,” Frederick quickly added, looking quite troubled now. He could pick up on her anger from her words alone. “We do have something-“ 

“And what would that be? That you had sex with me, is that it?” Robin demanded, eyes narrowing. “From what I’ve gathered that’s all that there is between us right now, Frederick.” 

“Robin that’s-“ Frederick cut himself off before he ended up saying something he’d regret and sighed exasperated. “No, we’re comrades and friends, Robin, regardless of what may have happened between us.”

“So you’re going to disregard the sex thing altogether? That it never happened?” Robin snapped again as she stood up from the windowsill. Her rage had reached a boiling point and she could no longer control herself.

“Certainly not! I’m simply trying to say that we should not let this incident tear us apart like it has been doing for the past several months!” Frederick exclaimed, growing more aggravated by the minute. 

“It’s been tearing us apart because you were insensitive over something so personal! Do you have any idea how much pain you’ve caused me?! You couldn’t have brought up the apology sooner?! It’s been months, Frederick!”

“As I said before, I tried to!” 

“It took you two months to try! Did it really take you that long to grow a conscience, Frederick?!” 

“Excuse me?!” Frederick snarled, his voice growing in volume. “I could have just shrugged off all responsibility for this and disregarded your pain, but here I am, going out of my way for you!”

“Was it really this much trouble for you, Frederick? You shouldn’t have bothered if it was!” Robin hissed, matching his volume, and quickly stormed up to him and promptly slammed her finger against his armored chest. “I don’t want this thing you call an apology if it means there will be nothing between us!” 

Frederick was confused as to what she was saying. What did she mean by that? He did say they would be friends and comrades, that wasn’t nothing right? Did he tell her that there would be nothing between them at some point in his apology? Did he screw up yet again? Why was she even so angry? He had been around Robin for months and he had never experienced such anger coming from Robin! It reminded him of the time the other women would be on their cycles and how some of them would have the worst mood swings… but such things never happened with Robin; she was always calm and collected, so much so that he could never figure out if she ever was on her cycles. 

He took a deep breath to calm himself once more and groaned quietly. This was getting out of hand and he needed to control it again. “Robin-“

“We’re done here,” Robin cut him off, stepping around him and heading for the door. “I want nothing to do with you.” 

Frederick was quite startled by her proclamation and quickly followed in pursuit. “Robin, wait! You’re being ridiculous!” he called after her. “We must speak with each other no matter how dreadful the conversation! Were you not going to say something as well?!”

“I changed my mind,” Robin snarled, opening the door as she stepped back and glared at him. “I said we’re done here, didn’t I?”

“Just what is your problem today, Robin?!” Frederick exclaimed in frustration and watched Robin storm off down the hall without another word to him. “Gods… What have I done wrong?” he whispered quietly, as he ran a hand through his hair in his frustration. He didn’t expect to be forgiven that easily, but this was absurd! Robin wasn’t one to keep grudges; something must be wrong with her.

He will speak with her again as soon as he’s able tomorrow. This was definitely not the Robin that he had come to know. Something must be bothering her and he had the sneaking suspicion that whatever it was just so happened to be what she refused to tell him. 

\----

Robin had screwed up. Gods how she had screwed up. This was not how it was supposed to happen. She failed Libra; failed herself! She was so ashamed of herself. A few hours had already passed after the argument and night was already upon them. And yet there she lay on her bed, feeling remorse for what she had done.

Frederick had gone out of his way and apologized to her and this is what she does! Why did she even react the way that she did?! Why had she been so furious?! Was this all because of her pregnancy; the hormones causing her to act out the way that she did? This was such a curse!

“He probably doesn’t want to speak with me ever again…” Robin whispered to herself, letting out a groan as she buried her face in her hands. “I can’t do this… Gods he probably hates me…”

She was going to tell him about the child and she had been too caught up in her anger to even care. She was despicable! This was something of utter importance and she decided that she just wasn’t going to speak of it in her ridiculous anger. 

“I wasn’t ready…” Robin sobbed into her hands, shaking her head. “I wasn’t ready…” She thought she had been but she was so wrong! And now she had screwed up her chance! If she had prepared herself better she would have been much more calm and collected despite any influence her hormones might have had on her! 

She couldn’t face him again. All the courage she had built up was gone… How would she even bring herself to speak with Frederick again after the outburst she had? How would she bring herself to speak with everyone normally with her hidden pregnancy? She had only been able to because she had been so sure that she would bring it up to Frederick at some point, but here she was! She was tired of all the lies she had built up all these months. She just wanted to go back to how things used to be… They were probably all disappointed in her now though.

“I can’t be here…” she whispered to herself as she rose up from her bed. “This isn’t home… it never was…” she mumbled, narrowing her eyes as she turned to look out the windows, wondering just what exactly she considered home. She did not even know if she had one in the first place, in fact.

She did not know what urged her, or even when she made the decision, but she began to pack her things with a sense of urgency. She was going to leave Ylisstol. It was the only logical thing to her. If she stayed, everyone would find out about her child and be disappointed in her, but if she left, no one would know! It was a sound strategy, at least in her mind. Barely anyone in Ylisse knew what the Shepherds’ tactician looked like so the chances of someone discovering her identity outside of Ylisstol would be slim… As long as she avoided any and all officials that is. 

She would be able to raise her child in peace and out of harm’s way. She’d be able to raise it however she wanted. She could let it play in the mud, study, train, or do just about anything that the child would like to do that others would generally frown upon! There would be no one to tell her how to raise her child or even scold her child for their behavior other than her of course. 

Just as she had hastily finished packing her travel bag, a pang of guilt struck her in the chest. Why was she doing this? Wasn’t she just running away from her problems? Wouldn’t it be better to just face them and deal with it before things were to get any worse? Who’s to say that everything would go well for her out there on her own? Wouldn’t they miss her?

No. She must not think of these things now. There was nothing worse than staying in this castle. While she had all her friends here, she also had the man that she loves, slept with, and carries the child of. If she were to live in this castle and Frederick would be nothing more than just a friend while they both worked to raise their child together, she didn’t think she could deal with the ache in her heart every time she would set her eyes on him. It was already hard enough as it was now.

_If you would just talk to him, things would be better, Robin. Don’t you think Frederick loves you? He did say he worried he could not love you the way you wanted to be loved…_

“…Well yeah, but that doesn’t prove anything! It might have been one of his stupid statements with no extra meaning to them!” Robin argued with her subconscious, frowning deeply as she moved towards the door of her chambers to leave with her heavy bag; only after she had left a note for Chrom as a pathetic apology for her unannounced leave of course. 

_You’re being ridiculous. You should stay and speak to the man properly. Frederick is not some cold hearted demon. Sure, he’s an idiot, but he would never be mad at you for carrying his child… maybe just a little for keeping it a secret._

“Gods you sound just like Libra… Leave me be,” Robin muttered in frustration only to realize that she was just muttering and arguing with herself this whole time. By the gods she was losing her mind.

As she reached the main entrance and set foot outside of the castle, she paused and spared a glance back towards the large doors of the castle. She stared at them for what felt like an eternity, but she felt nothing. She felt empty. It was like saying goodbye to all the friends she had made in the short time she was with the Shepherds and Ylisse’s army, but at the same time she felt as if no one would really care.

With a deep breath she turned away once more and left. She walked and never again glanced back towards the castle where all her friends slept for the night. There were a few guards out who gave her a fleeting glance, but they did not think much on her leave. They perhaps thought she may be running a late night errand of some sort… if only they knew. After she passed the guards, she set out on her journey to Naga knows where.

_Just what are you doing, Robin? You know this is wrong…_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> EEEEEEEEEEEEHHHHHH dont hate me guys XDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD I know it's bad. Dont hate me too much ;;u;; i'll try to update faster to get this junk out of the way!
> 
> Also i totally made up the pilgrimage and arena thing up im sorry :')


	8. Missing

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *huffs and dies* this was a hard chapter to write! I spent like two weeks trying to finish it after I started it (if you happen to pay attention when i update the description of the story about whether or not a chapter is being written lol). 
> 
> I apologize if it's awful but just like you guys, I'm eager for them to makeup lol! I did my best to do well though <3

Some time that very morning, Chrom, Sumia, Lissa, and Frederick had gathered in the main royal dining hall to have their breakfast prepared for them. Chrom would have preferred dining with his Shepherds since he hated all the fancy treatment, but Frederick insisted that he should do this once in a while. He had conceded to the will of the stubborn man and now sat at the table drilling holes into the surface with his sharp gaze. 

On top of being upset about dinning away from his men and women, something else was on Chrom’s mind that only made him feel more upset than he already was. Robin was not here. He would have not minded so much if he had his long time best friend at the table with them- which is technically not true; they’ve only been friends for a few months, but still.

He had requested that she be invited, but the servant came back to report that Robin was unresponsive. Chrom wanted to personally go to her room and drag her over so she would not miss breakfast. Unfortunately he was stopped short by Lissa who warned him not to disrupt a woman’s beauty sleep. That thought alone settled him as he remembered the one discussion they had a few months back about how he… well… He almost died. Anyway he was still quite upset. She would be missing breakfast yet again! That woman really needed to have a better sleep schedule.

Sumia observed her rather irritated husband, then Lissa and Frederick. She did not like how quiet the table was and decided it be best that she break up the awful mood Chrom set up with idle chitchat. 

“Ah, Sir Frederick,” Sumia started, causing said man to stop digging into his breakfast and address her curtly. 

“Milady.”

“I just remembered that Robin was looking for you yesterday,” she began and could not help but notice how Frederick seemed to hold the knife and fork in his hands a little tighter than he had previously. “Did she find you?”

“Ah yes, she did,” Frederick answered a bit hesitantly. “She… simply wanted to know how the guard was coming along. Yes, that’s quite right,” he struggled with his lie, smiling slightly to try and keep suspicion off of him. 

“I don’t know,” Chrom began, narrowing his eyes at his trusted friend. “It seemed rather an urgent discussion and not something so minor.”

“Robin is rather serious when it comes to her strategies, milord,” Frederick countered, gathering his wits about him once more. 

Sumia seemed rather displeased with his reply and was going to question him further when Lissa cut her off with an exclamation. 

“Whoa!” she gasped, glancing between Chrom, Sumia and Frederick. “What happened here?”

“Nothing, Lissa,” Chrom said quickly, his attention going back to Frederick. The man looked increasingly tense as all the attention went to him. 

“Forgive me, Sir Frederick, but I am with Chrom on this one,” Sumia began, now narrowing her eyes at the man as well. “I may not know Robin as well as my husband does, but I could tell that was not some minor conversation she wanted to discuss.”

Frederick attempted to ease their minds, but now Chrom jumped in with his wife. “Not to mention you were not yourself yesterday. Something serious had been on your mind.”

Lissa started to wonder if maybe this had been the confession she had been waiting to hear about for a couple weeks now, but she thought it better to not say anything and pay attention to the conversation. It would not do to jump in without any knowledge of the situation. 

Frederick sighed and rubbed his temple lightly with his fingers. “Forgive me, but I’d rather not discuss this now…”

“And why is that?” Chrom inquired, frowning deeply. “What did you do to Robin?” 

“Nothing, milord,” Frederick defended himself quickly, frowning deeply. After a couple tense minutes, Frederick sighed again and focused his gaze on the table. “… Truth be told, milord… We have not been on the best of terms with one another, but I am working to fix it.”

The table grew quiet then, everyone staring hard at Frederick with surprise and shock. Nobody could believe Frederick and Robin of all people would be having a dispute. Robin was usually so levelheaded, even the few times Chrom had deeply upset her she had forgiven him quickly enough, so for her to be so upset with Frederick was alarming. 

“Holy shit,” Lissa whispered, eyes wide in shock. “What did you do to her, Frederick?” 

“Lissa!” Chrom chided his sister without skipping a beat. 

“I…” Frederick tried to explain, but a deep blush spread across his features. How was he to tell his lord and ladies that he had intercourse with the tactician behind everyone’s backs? That was absolutely despicable and a great shame to admit, more so considering it was a one night fling! He would have to be vague about it, at least to spare them their good image of Robin if anything. 

“Frederick,” Chrom called out to the knight with a rather dangerous tone. 

If Frederick hurt Robin, Chrom had no idea what he would do. Frederick was his long time friend, guard, nanny, and mentor compared to Robin who was a stranger they met about a year ago or so. The thought that Robin could have been hurt by Frederick sparked such a rage within him. He would probably beat the knight up at this rate if he didn’t explain himself. 

“Robin and I had an engagement, and I, for lack of a better word, hurt her,” Frederick explained vaguely, clearing his throat awkwardly. 

“What kind of engagement was this?” Lissa inquired, now deeply interested. 

“An engagement, milday,” Frederick answered stubbornly as he swiftly stood up and excused himself. “I will have another discussion with her today, do not worry. Now if you’ll excuse me,” he stated flatly and walked out of the dining room. 

“Oh dear,” Sumia sighed quietly, looking to her husband anxiously. “This really is as bad as we thought…” 

Chrom groaned quietly and ran a hand through his hair. “I knew this wouldn’t end well…” 

“This is still going on?” Lissa asked out of the blue, glancing at her brother and his wife. 

“What do you mean, Lissa?” Chrom snapped, turning his sharp gaze on his sister. Had she been aware of this all along? 

“They’ve been at it for a couple months now I would say,” Lissa explained, taking a sip of her tea nonchalantly. “I noticed they weren’t quite the same with each other soooo… I launched an investigation! But I got nothing out of it really.”

“Truthfully?” Sumia wondered in surprise, raising an eyebrow. “Goodness… No wonder Sir Frederick was unwell. These things tend to take a toll on people…” 

“I’m surprised they worked so well with one another in the middle of the war despite the conflict,” Chrom muttered quietly. 

“We should talk to Robin and see how bad this ‘engagement’ was. Maybe we can help them fix this,” Lissa suggested and Chrom agreed.

Right as they stood up to go find Robin, Sumia stood up as well and frowned at the two of them. 

“Don’t you two think this may be a _really_ private matter between the two?” Sumia tried to reason with them. “I think it might be good to let them deal with it privately. If we were to get involved, we may just make the situation much worse than it is.”

“But Sumiaaaaa!” 

“No, she’s right,” Chrom sighed out despite his disappointment. “We shouldn’t get involved… for now. If they get physical we may need to, but I highly doubt they would.”

“Gods, Chrom! Don’t say that!” Lissa cried out, looking mortified as she imagined the battle between the two. “They’d bring the whole castle down first before they get to one another!”

Sumia quietly watched the siblings bickering with one another about how Frederick could kill Robin easily, but if Robin got a spell in before he could reach her, she could turn the tables on him. She sighed and shook her head, now quite concerned over Sir Frederick. Whatever happened between them, she knew that Frederick never meant to do harm to Robin; she knew he was a good man after all, if not oblivious. 

“Let’s just keep an eye on them for now and make sure things don’t escalate,” Sumia cut in, stopping the two siblings and their pointless argument.

“Right as always, Sumia,” Chrom said quickly, and made his way out of the dining room with the two women in tow. 

\----

“Don’t you find it odd?” Stahl muttered randomly to Sully in the midst of their training. 

Everyone were currently in the field, honing their skills just in case another war were to sprung up or just a simple case of learned bandits. It was well past noon now, and the heat was stifling, but they all trained regardless. This builds up experience and strength, after all. 

“The hell you talking ‘bout?” Sully asked as she swung her lance towards Stahl, and he swiftly dodged said attack. 

“Well… Everyone’s here, right?” he began to which Sully answered with something around the lines of ‘no shit’. “So…Where’s Robin?”

That was when Sully stopped her onslaught and glanced around the field curiously. He was right. Robin was the only one who was missing. She wasn’t one to skip training no matter how tempting it was to just sit in the library and read books all day. Robin was also quite notorious among them as the one who overslept often, but never this late in the day. 

“Damn, you’re right... Robin’s never been this late,” Sully muttered to herself as she scratched her head in confusion. “Did something come up?”

“Chrom wouldn’t be here if something did,” Stahl reminded her, taking a quick snack break of which he pulled out of Naga knows where. 

“True…”

“Are you guys talking ‘bout Robin?” Vaike inquired as he strolled up to them in all his shirtless glory. “I started to notice her missing a few minutes ago after I finished teaching Donnel a lesson in combat!” 

Said farm boy strolled up then, but he looked pretty much unscathed like usual. The boy was something else that was for sure. “Ye don’t think somethin’ happened to the missus, right?”

“Robin? Nah that girl’s something else, kid!” Vaike exclaimed with a mighty laugh that caught the attention of everyone else. It wasn’t long before everyone stopped their training and moved to the small group of Shepherds. 

“What’s going on? Is this a game?!” Nowi squealed happily, hoping this gathering was some kind of game at work. 

“No, Nowi, not everything is a game,” Ricken groaned quietly, having been chasing the manakete around the field to keep her from destroying the whole castle in one of her so called ‘games’. 

“Aww come on…” 

“I am ninety-nine percent certain this congregation has to entail the tactician who happens to be absent,” Miriel explained to Nowi who gave her a weird look because she had no idea what the woman had just said. 

“I’m starting to get concerned now,” Chrom started as he glanced at all of his fellow Shepherds. “I haven’t seen her since yesterday afternoon.”

“Did something happen?” Cordelia wondered, raising an eyebrow. 

“More than likely,” Chrom offered but did not go into detail to spare Frederick of any blame in this, though it probably was by accident.

Frederick was beginning to feel guilty now worried that he may have caused Robin more pain than he thought previously. Whatever had happened to Robin, it must be his fault. 

“Perhaps I should go check on her,” Frederick offered, wanting to take responsibility for his actions the previous night… whatever they might have been. He still struggled to understand where he screwed up in his apology besides it being ridiculously late. 

“About that,” Kellam spoke up and scared all the faith everyone had in Naga out of them. This man would forever be a worthy opponent with such an incredible ability. “She’s gone.”

Time seemed to stop for Chrom and Frederick; Chrom because she was his dear friend who he happened to scoop up out of a field, and Frederick because he felt this was his fault after their argument. Everyone else just seemed surprised and shocked at the news. Where had she gone? Did she go on an errand without telling anyone? Surely she would be back right?

“What do you mean she’s gone?!” Chrom exclaimed as he approached Kellam, glaring daggers at the poor innocent man who wished his unlucky skill would kick in right then and there. 

“She’s nowhere in the castle. None of the servants have seen her today at the usual times she’s out and about,” Kellam explained, holding his hands up in an attempt to calm Chrom down. The man looked to be having a bout of hysterics. 

“Are you certain of this?” Frederick demanded then, an equal, yet more powerful glare sent his way. 

“Y-yes…” Kellam assured, looking quite anxious. 

“Guys leave him alone!” Lissa came to his rescue and tried to get Frederick and Chrom’s attention away from poor Kellam. “It’s obviously not his fault!”

“Gods damn it,” Frederick hissed under his breath and tried to figure out what he should do next. It then made itself clear to him. “I will speak with the guards, they should know more if she happened to leave the castle grounds.” 

“Right,” Chrom said quickly, gathering his wits about him. He then turned to his Shepherds and motioned for them to spread out. “Search every single corner of the castle, if you don’t find her, we’ll send out a search party to scope out the city perimeters.”

Each Shepherd nodded and went on their way, Nowi cheering the whole time because it was like playing a game of “hide and seek”. Frederick hurried towards the barracks to speak with the night-shift guards, praying to the gods that Robin did not leave. Especially not when he still needed to apologize to her better and bring her peace. Chrom meanwhile went off to check Robin’s chamber to see if by any chance she was hiding in her chambers out of spite for Frederick after whatever argument they had last night. 

“She couldn’t have left. She wouldn’t leave without a fair notice,” Chrom reasoned with himself as he practically jogged towards her chambers, panic spreading through his whole body. “Robin’s a reasonable woman. No amount of anger could cause her to make such a rash decision! I made her our tactician for that very fact and skill alone!” he continued on, muttering more incoherent things as he went. 

He reached her chambers after what felt like an eternity and knocked on the door to see if she would answer him. After a minute, he tried again and called out to her, but he received no response. He then pounded the door with his fist, hoping that maybe she was knocked out and couldn’t hear him, but again to no avail. 

He took a deep breath and carefully opened the door, to which he found unlocked much to his surprise. He stepped inside the room, hoping he might find a very angry Robin for walking in while she was in the process of dressing herself in a hurry after oversleeping. Not because he wanted to see her undressed, of course! He simply just wanted to know that his friend was still there… But even he knew that was wishful thinking.

He stared at the barren chambers, glancing at the empty bed and then at the empty desk where he would sometimes find her working hard on plans. He noted how there were some papers on the desk and moved to pick them up and see what they were about. Perhaps a, ‘I will be going on a small trip, but I will be back soon!’ note was hidden in the stack, but once more, that was his own wishful thinking. There was a note, just not one he wanted to read. 

He held the small note in his hands and read it over and over again, disbelief written on his features. 

_Forgive me, Chrom,_

_I did not want to do this, I really didn’t, but as the days passed, I realized something… I just don’t feel like I belong. Everyone has their previous lives to return to, but I have nothing. I feel as if I were a nuisance, though I have a feeling you would say otherwise. On top of that, I have a few very personal problems that I need to figure out on my own. Let’s just say that I will be going on journey, perhaps, to find myself and where I belong, as well as finding a solution to my problems. Again, forgive me, Chrom, but I hope you understand._

_Oh, I also finished the wedding/coronation plans. You will probably find no faults in them. Consider it my last service to you until further notice!_

_Robin._

“What the hell…” Chrom muttered under his breath as he crinkled the paper in his hands in frustration. He then snatched the plans and looked through them quickly. He cursed under his breath when he realized she never intended to be there. She wasn’t involved in any activity.

He didn’t hesitate a moment longer and rushed off to gather everyone together again to procure a search party for his dear friend. How could she think of such things?! She should have said something! Plus what problem could ever be so personal as to not share it with a friend? Did she not trust him to keep a secret if it was that serious? …Okay maybe he wouldn’t trust himself either, but it’s not like he would say it on purpose! 

Where could she have gone? When did she even leave? Gods he was so worried…

\-----

The guards were relaxed and enjoying their off hours in the barracks with not a care in the world. Day duties were not their responsibility, so they could relax all that they wanted! It was unfortunate that they were not allowed to drink… Lieutenant’s orders you see. He didn’t want them to be wasted if an emergency were to ever come up. 

Suddenly the door was slammed opened so hard that it almost flew off its hinges. The loud noise startled the guards and instantly had them on their feet, reaching for their weapons, but they all paused when they saw the lieutenant himself standing there. He did not look too pleased…

“Did someone leave a pebble in the courtyard by any chance?” one of the guards whispered to the others, quite anxious about it. Gods forgive whatever soul left a pebble in the courtyard for Frederick to see…  
“Which of you were guarding the front gates last night?!” Frederick demanded, the deadly, set glare on his features terrifying enough to make any grown man piss himself. 

After a few hesitant seconds, two guards stepped forward, still wondering what it was that they did wrong. Nobody had ever seen Frederick this angry before. They’ve seen him annoyed, irritated, frustrated and angry but never this angry: the man was seething! Or perhaps he was more panicking and he’s unsure on how to express it.

“U-us, sir!” one of the guards exclaimed, trying not to cower before Frederick. 

Frederick’s anxiety and anger was slightly appeased by the men’s quick response, but it was still evident that he was one wrong move away from murdering someone on the spot. If Robin had left, why hadn’t he been informed by his guards? Surely if he hadn’t been informed, then Robin may have never left after all and Frederick was simply imagining the worst case scenario. Perhaps Chrom would find her in the chambers working tirelessly on something. 

“Did you two witness Robin leaving by any chance?” he asked less threateningly once he managed to control his emotions; if just slightly. 

“Yes, sir,” the guard replied. “We witnessed her leaving in the morning hours. Has something occurred?” 

“It never crossed your minds to inform me of this?!” Frederick snapped, his anger returning two fold. His fears were starting to return and he was about to lose it. 

“We didn’t think it a problem, sir! The tactician often leaves the castle grounds to run errands! We assumed she’d be back eventually, sir,” the other explained, hoping Frederick would not take his frustrations out on them. 

Frederick swore under his breath, something the guards had rarely ever heard Frederick do, and ran a hand through his hair.

“Right…” Frederick sighed as he tried to calm down. He decided it would be best if he would just leave before he would strangle the two guards. It wasn’t their fault, he knew that, but he could have stopped Robin if only he had been informed sooner! 

She was gone and it was all his fault. Or at least he felt like it was. It’s not like he had been awful to Robin when they were talking… It got heated pretty quickly but he never really wished her awful things. All he said was that she was ridiculous if anything at all. 

_Wait Frederick, calm down. You’re not even sure whether Robin really is gone. Perhaps the guards are right; maybe she really is running an errand!_

Frederick tried to reason with himself as he turned back towards the castle to find Chrom and report his findings. He was finally starting to calm down until he saw Chrom with a few Shepherds waiting on everyone to gather once more. 

The look Chrom had on his features made him feel sick to his stomach. His hopes were slowly being crushed the closer he got to his lord and comrades. 

“Robin’s gone, Frederick, just as Kellam said she was,” Chrom stated flatly as he stared at his longtime friend intently. 

“So the guards have informed me, milord,” Frederick muttered, trying not to let his panic evident in his voice. 

“What?! Seriously?! But why?!” Lissa cried out as she heard the news. How could Robin do such a thing?! Had they made her feel unwanted at any point during her stay?! Maybe she took it too far in one of her pranks against Robin? She never seemed to mind too much! In fact, Robin would occasionally pull one on her from time to time as payback! 

“I don’t know, Lissa,” Chrom sighed out as he ran a hand through his hair. “I’ve no idea what made her act so rashly.” 

As the other Shepherds returned and grew alarmed by Robin’s disappearance, Frederick felt the weight of the world fall on his shoulders. This was definitely his fault. Robin was most unhappy because of him! He should have persisted last night and not allowed her to retreat to her chambers! 

“Perhaps it is my fault,” Frederick sighed out at last. He felt the need to express his guilt and anxiety before it could consume him alive. “I’ve done something to her that may have played a part in her leave…”

Chrom quickly shook his head at Frederick’s claims and stopped anyone from questioning him. “No, Frederick. She left me a note and her biggest concern was that she felt as if she didn’t belong. I’d dare say that this is all our faults. If we had been more alert, we could have seen Robin’s discomfort and addressed it.” 

“That’s true,” Sumia spoke up, wringing her hands nervously. 

“She always did look lost or uncomfortable,” Kellam added, for once getting noticed without everyone freaking out about his sudden appearance. “Especially whenever she witnessed everyone fall back into their old patterns before the war. I assume she felt out of place considering she has no memories of her past.”

“That is most possible. One who loses their memories is subject to have intense feelings of longing at times,” Miriel agreed with Kellam.

“Had we been too distant with her, I wonder?” Cordelia speculated, looking quite troubled at the thought; especially considering the fact that she was most often out training. She felt particularly guilty about being distant because of that fact. 

“Not that I know,” Ricken sighed out, chewing on one of his nails anxiously. “I’ve always been kind to her and always greeted her whenever I saw her! She seemed fine to me!” 

“Yeah! I’ve never seen Robin down in the dumps at all! Though she is a little distant at times now that I think on it,” Vaike muttered in thought. 

“Can we stop talking and find her already?!” Lissa exclaimed, stopping everyone in their speculations as she huffed . “The longer we sit here talking, the farther she’ll go! We have to get to her and let her know that she’s wanted and appreciated here!”

“Lissa’s right! We should head out at once!” Chrom exclaimed, already about to take off to search for Robin. 

“Before we do, we should establish the limit for the search perimeter. Are we searching just around Ylisstol or the area around the city as well?” Cordelia questioned, pausing Chrom in his tracks. 

“Six miles past the city border. Let’s cover as much ground as we can,” Chrom explained, “Leave no stone unturned!” 

And with those orders, everyone mounted their horses or pegasus and quickly set out in search of Robin around the city first. Those on foot checked the city and asked anyone for any sighting of Robin, while those who were mounted set out to the search limit that Chrom instructed. They were in a hurry, hoping to catch Robin quickly. None more so than Frederick; he would never forgive himself if he can’t give Robin the proper apology she deserved. He may have already apologized, but he would not stop until Robin either forgave him or accepted the apology. In all honesty he didn’t care if Robin forgave him, he just wanted her to know that he truly felt awful for what he’s made her feel all those months ago. 

They searched for hours upon hours and still no sign of Robin anywhere that they went. Some citizens had seen her walking out of town, but they were unable to offer anything else. The others caught no sight of sign of her anywhere they went. Perhaps she knew they would try to find her and she purposely took well traveled roads to avoid leaving recognizable tracks among the cluster of other travelers’. Or she may have caught a ride on a caravan of some sort. 

If only Robin knew how much pain she would cause all of the friends she had made in the short time she had been with them, maybe then she would have not left. They were miserable and all felt guilty. They never considered how Robin felt since they saw her as a strong woman and failed to see that she was human too. 

When night fell, they all returned back to the castle empty handed. Maybe one day they’ll see her again, and when they do, they will not let her go. 

\----

Somewhere several miles past the capital of Ylisstol, Robin was setting up camp for the night. She sighed softly as she stared off into the deep, dark woods that surrounded her. Despite the ominous atmosphere, she did not want to go back to Ylisstol. The forest almost felt as empty to her as her own bedchamber was. She always hated night in the castle; she always felt the loneliest then…

She then heard rustling within the vegetation and she was up on her feet in an instant. She pulled out a tome and tried to see whatever was before her before she would fire a Thoron their way. 

“Who’s there?!” she demanded, narrowing her eyes in an attempt to try and see through the darkness of the forest. 

It was then that Tharja stepped out, smiling her usual weird smile. “It wasn’t my intention to startle you,” she said simply as she walked past Robin’s tome and made herself comfortable in Robin’s small camp. 

“Tharja? What are you doing here? How did you find me?” Robin asked, surprised to see the odd woman there but nevertheless she placed the tome down. 

“I hate living in confined spaces. I will go wherever you go, if you’ll have me,” she explained, picking at her nails slightly as she muttered something about hexing her otherwise. Tharja would rather die than let Robin go out on her own. She was her whole world; without Robin, her life had no meaning anymore. 

“…You’re not trying to take me back?”

“Why would I? If you want to leave so do I.”

“…Right…” 

“Where are you going?” Tharja asked once a few minutes passed between them to which Robin replied with a shrug. “This is going to be interesting…” 

“I didn’t exactly plan this far,” Robin joked with a light laugh. “I’ll think of something soon. I only have a few months left after all.”

Tharja couldn’t help but sigh despite her smile. At least she had Robin all to herself now… for a little bit that is. This would be a troublesome trip, but she would do anything for her dear Robin.


	9. Home?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I sincerely apologize for the lateness of this chapter! ;D; I was writing it and it became increasingly hard to do so because this was a last minute chapter my friend and I agreed needed to be written before I head into the fun parts of the story again -sob- It was incredibly hard to write and it may be a little boring though i tried to make it as entertaining as possible
> 
> Then i had finals to contend with and all that jazz (got As in all my classes though which im honestly really surprised about. I was expecting a B or two lol) and then my birthday (my bff and bf would not let me go for like two weekends to celebrate XD still the best days of my life though.)
> 
> Anywayyyyyyyyyyy i hope the characters are not too OOC >u>;;

_“Frederick, wait! Please listen to me!” Robin cried desperately. Her heart was in her throat, pounding, and suffocating her; unable to take a breath she desperately needed. She felt dizzy, lightheaded and could barely see before her; eyes clouded with tears threatening to spill over._

_”I… I’m sorry, please listen!” she tried again, reaching towards said man who didn’t dare look her in the eye. “It was never my intent-“_

_“Yet you did it,” the knight replied with so much anger in his voice, in his posture, and his gaze. A gaze he trained on everything but at her. She wasn’t even worth his anger; so low and despicable he would much rather glare at the poor, more valuable vase in the corner of the room than at her._

_“…I know…” the tactician breathed out nervously, wringing her hands. She was nervous, anxious, scared, and dreading what was to come of this. “I don’t know why I did it… Frederick, please…”_

_But the large man simply shook his head and turned away from her. He was done; tired of her. Robin’s heart sank down to the pits of her stomach as she watched his retreating form. She continued to beg, but she dared not move from the spot for fear of angering the man further. Her vision blurred and darkened as she stared at his back, the darkness slowly consuming the imagine until she no longer saw him—_

“STOP!” Robin cried out as she sat up straight, eyes wide, tears streaming down her face while she struggled to catch her breath. Was that a dream? It felt all too real to be one. She tried to sit up, but her womb made it harder than usual, plus her whole body ached a considerable amount. Where was she again? And what was with that dream?

“Oh you’re awake,” Tharja’s voice reached her ears then. She glanced over at the female to see her poking at the flames of a small campfire before them. “You were having a nightmare, but I thought it rude to interrupt it. Nightmares build character after all.” 

Robin chose not to respond to that, and it was then that she remembered where she was and what exactly was going on. She had been traveling with Tharja for several weeks now in search for a new place to stay and raise her child. Speaking of her child, it had grown quite a bit in the last few weeks and had made things much more difficult for her. She could barely sit up, her morning sickness wasn’t as bad as before but it was still there, she kept swelling up which made it hard to move at times, the incessant restroom breaks… This whole journey was absolute misery, but she was too scared and anxious to turn back now; especially after that dream she had. 

“How long was I out?” Robin groaned as she rubbed at her eyes and sniffled in an attempt to contain the snot that threatened to dribble down. She had apparently cried during that whole ordeal too. Marvelous. 

“An hour and a half I’d say. You beat your tossing and turning record by 6 today, not to mention you also screamed and cried several times during,” Tharja responded which unnerved Robin like usual. 

“Isn’t that tiring?” Robin asked her, referring to Tharja’s oddly specific observations about her. She even counted how many times she would use the restroom in a day… Robin could not blame her honestly, she would go about a dozen times or so; kind of hard not to keep track of it.

“It’s rewarding.” 

“Right…” Robin sighed out as she rubbed her bump tenderly. She was quite eager to have her child already, but she still had around 3 to 4 months left before she could give birth. Robin was so engrossed in her affection for her unborn child that she failed to notice Tharja staring intently… a little too intently. 

“I take it Frederick’s the father,” Tharja muttered then, her usual small, creepy smile on her features. 

Robin almost jumped out of her skin when she heard Tharja say it. She had never said a word about it to Tharja! How did she figure it out?! Gods forbid this woman tried anything on Frederick…

“You kept saying his name in your sleep. You only say the names of the people that are on your mind whenever you sleep, but lately it’s always been Frederick,” Tharja explained before Robin could ask her how she figured it out. 

“…Gods damn it,” Robin whispered, exasperated with herself. Why did her body always betray her? “Tharja, don’t even try doing anything to him-“ 

“Why him? He’s so… strange and obsessive,” Tharja glowered, chewing at her nail in annoyance. She was annoyed to know that her suspicions were actually true and her Robin had been claimed by that… brute.

“…Are we still talking about Frederick?” Robin mused, staring at Tharja pointedly. She then sighed and ran a hand through one of her pigtails to calm her nerves. “I don’t really know… While he is obsessive and odd at times, he’s very caring and dedicated too…” 

“Ugh…” Tharja shuttered, glaring at a random ant that skittered across the ground before her. “That’s just disgusting…” 

“Don’t hurt him, Tharja, or I swear on Naga…” 

“If you care for him so much, why are you running?” Tharja interrupted her then, causing Robin to pause. 

“I… I don’t know… Every time I think about just turning around and going back, I get really anxious and scared… It’s so simple as to just tell him and get it over with, but…” Robin sighed out, rubbing her face. Then she thought on her dream a few minutes back and frowned. “I don’t think I can handle it… What if I snap at him again? He genuinely apologized and I lost my head when it actually mattered… Do you think he’ll be furious with me for not telling him sooner?” 

“Oh Robin, he’s going to be _beyond_ furious,” Tharja answered, not understanding that those were not the best words ease Robin, but then again did she want Robin to fix things? No, not really. She finally had her all to herself; it would be a shame if she were to make up with Frederick because then she wouldn’t be able to be around Robin as much anymore.

Robin groaned and fell back on the makeshift bed of blankets. That made her feel even worse than before. “Thanks Tharja…” 

“We should get a move on,” Tharja suggested to change the subject. She stood up from the log she had been sitting on and began packing the few things they had after smothering the fire.

Robin sighed and rolled out of the bed, onto her knees, and began helping with packing as best she could. Hopefully they would find an adequate place soon. Robin didn’t want to give birth in the middle of the woods that’s for sure; and she honestly didn’t trust Tharja with the baby all that much still. 

She knew Tharja wouldn’t hurt her or the baby, but still, better safe than sorry. The woman sometimes had no common sense… Like the one time she tried to be “normal”. She wasn’t sure which version was scarier: Tharja, or “normal” Tharja? Well “normal” Tharja made surprisingly delicious food so it wasn’t all that bad. 

It wasn’t long before they were on the move again. Every day took them further away from Ylisstol and to the borders of it. Plegia was a little dangerous still so Robin had no intentions of crossing the border, and Regna Ferox was much too cold. Ideally they needed to stay in Ylisstol’s borders but far enough away to not be noticed by anyone that may know them. There were hundreds upon thousands of small villages outside of the capital, so Robin was sure they would find a cozy one far enough away that the capital barely takes notice of.

“How did you and that guy have sex anyway?” 

Tharja’s abrupt statement brought Robin out of her thoughts and she looked over at Tharja in surprise. “What?”

“The guy’s got a lance so far up his ass… How did you do it?”

Robin wanted to die from embarrassment right then and there, but that was a good question… What pushed Frederick over the edge anyway? He had so much control over himself that she could see why Tharja would be confused. But Frederick was human and he only had so much restraint before he would give in, especially if the woman is willing and gives consent. 

Tharja gasped quietly and gave Robin a look that unnerved her. Was she proud or aroused? “Did you cast a hex on him? Is that it?”

“Absolutely not!” Robin scoffed, glaring at Tharja. She would never resort to such tactics! “I’d like to think that maybe I’m just _that_ attractive! Is that too hard to accept?” 

“I took Frederick for a guy that likes… boring women,” Tharja explained.

“Are you saying I’m boring?”

“You’re everything but, Robin.”

“What do you consider a boring woman then?”

“Fancy, heavy dressed, disgustingly perfumed and proper, with a fake laugh,” Tharja struggled to explain, eyes narrowed in thought. “Typical court lady.” 

Robin couldn’t help but get the feeling that she had heard a similar statement before in her life… Oh right. _Chrom._

“So I’m not a lady?”

“Far from it. You’re a woman.”

“What’s the difference?”

“You’re not fake and you’re more than capable.” 

“Oh.”

“Mhmmm…” 

“…Do I look fat?”

“Quite.” 

“THARJA!”

And they continued on bickering and chatting along the way. It helped Robin forget her aches and pains as she realized that Tharja was interesting to talk to. The woman had a certain view of the world that Robin had never seen before until now. Her honesty and words of encouragement helped her through the many mood swings she went through the day… as strange as they were. 

\-----

They had made quite a bit of progress in their travels when Robin’s feet began to ache terribly. She had shrugged it off for the past few minutes but now it had gotten so bad that Robin could no longer ignore it or even hide it. She tried to keep it quiet, but Tharja noticed quickly that her gait changed. She didn’t say anything at first and continued to walk until Robin collapses for pushing her body too much later on. She knew better than to stop Robin… and she also knew that Robin might injure herself before she would give up unfortunately.

“Robin, do you need to rest?” Tharja asked, unable to stay quiet any longer. She glanced over at Robin who had a very obvious limp now. “Or I could cast a spell or two to help…” 

Robin sighed and stopped in her tracks, turning to face Tharja. She wanted to say no quite badly, but she knew she was at her limit now. She could barely even feel her feet as she walked.

“I suppose I could use a little rest…” she agreed in defeat. 

“Then sit. There’s no hurry,” Tharja reasoned as she motioned for Robin to settle down under a tree. 

Before Robin could move, they both heard the distant rumble of thunder nearby. They both paused and glanced up at the darkening evening sky which appeared darker than usual now that dark, grey clouds began rolling in. How did they not see that coming before? They could have sought out shelter before the clouds could even blanket the sky. 

“Do you think it’s actually going to rain this time?” Robin asked, frowning a little. If she were to get sick from the rain, that could spell trouble for her baby. Of all the time they had been on the road, never once had it rained. The weather bluffed if anything, but this one looked serious. 

“Unfortunately,” Tharja grunted, already thinking about how long it would take her hair to dry if it’s a downpour. 

“Just what we need,” Robin sighed out, her hand moving to her bump and gently caressing it as she became anxious once more. Tharja noted that it had become a habit of comfort for Robin as of late, as if reminding herself that she’s got more to live for now and not let dread consume her. 

“Let’s find you some shelter before it pours…” Tharja muttered and began walking around the place in search of a cave or something, but the place was all trees… Really thin trees too. This was probably the worst place to be caught out in the rain.

Unfortunately nature wasn’t willing to wait. The skies opened up a few minutes into the search and they both groaned in annoyance. They still searched for shelter despite it, but found none. If anything, they found a road that didn’t look like it was frequented often. That was a pretty good sign. Somewhere down this road had to be some kind of shelter; whether it being an old, abandoned outpost or a village. They could follow the road, but which way should they go?

Tharja took notice that the rain was becoming unbearable now. It was freezing now that the sun had begun to set and offered them little to no warmth. She also noted that Robin was shivering and her lips were starting to turn purple. She knew how much Robin was trying to keep her body healthy for the child that she cherished with all her heart; this could spell big trouble for her. 

With a sigh she took off the cape on her shoulders and draped it over Robin’s head. Sure it was pretty wet, but some cover was better than none she supposed. Plus the look of utter surprise on Robin’s face was well worth it. The surprised look on her features soon turned to something she couldn’t really name… happiness or gratitude? 

“Tharja… I appreciate the gesture, but you should keep it… You’re barely dressed as it is,” Robin protested, trying to remove the cape from her head, but Tharja kept it in place.

“It’s fine,” Tharja cut in quickly, still making sure the cape was over her head. “That child needs you healthy.” 

“Yeah but…” Robin continued to protest, frowning slightly in guilt. The poor woman was probably freezing! More so than herself! 

“I said it’s fine.”

Robin sighed in defeat and used the cape as best she could despite it being just as wet as them. It was then that they heard the familiar sound of an old, rickety cart being pulled by a horse coming towards them. They both paused in their search for shelter and glanced back towards the road just in time to see the horse and cart appear in their field of view. Thankfully neither recognized the driver. 

The driver caught sight of them a few feet off the road despite the pouring rain and reeled his horse. “Ho!” he exclaimed as the horse whinnied in protest. “Well I’ll be! What’re you two mighty fine ladies doing out here all alone in the rain?” 

The man had a distinct country accent that neither of them could ignore. It was a clear sign that the man did not hail from any of the places centered around Ylisstol. 

“Think he’ll give us a ride?” Tharja inquired quietly to Robin. Her arms were crossed in an attempt to keep herself warm but that wasn’t all that effective if she were to be honest. 

“Who knows…” Robin responded, frowning slightly. “Maybe for a bit of coin…”

“Uh… Ladies?”

“Oh um, sorry we were just talking!” Robin exclaimed, smiling sweetly at the man. “We’ve been looking for a calm place to settle down! You wouldn’t happen to know of a place, would you?” 

The man stared at them for a moment before he broke into an almost toothless grin. “Ah! Y’all’s one of them city peoples! Trying to escape that city life, eh? I don’t blame ya. Stuffier than a barn full of cow shit- those cities- if I do say so myself.” 

“Listen, old man, do you know of a place or not—“ Robin’s hand never moved faster in her short life as it did to cover Tharja’s mouth. 

“She’s cold and upset, I apologize,” Robin cut in quickly with a nervous laugh. The movement of her arm had parted her robes enough to expose her now obvious belly bump, which the man took notice of almost immediately. 

“By Naga! Are you pregnant, missus?!” the man exclaimed to which Robin responded with a small, yet hesitant nod. “What are you doing getting poured down on?! There’s a village just north of here y’all can settle in and get yourselves warm!” 

He then jumped off the cart and moved over to them in a hurry. Tharja made the move to stand in front of Robin in case the man tried to hurt her, but the man offered his hand instead. 

“Come on, ladies! I’ll take y’all there! Gods forbid either of you lovely ladies get sick!” he exclaimed and took Robin by the hand first and dragged her over to the cart, Tharja following close behind. The man climbed into the back of the cart first and then helped pull Robin onto it. He made sure Robin settled down in the cart without incident before he turned to Tharja and helped her up as well, not that Tharja wanted it. 

“We’ll be there shortly! I wish I could offer y’all some cover, but…” the man began as he settled back into the driver’s seat and picked up the reigns. “As you ladies can see, I’m just as soaked!” he mused with a happy, carefree cackle. Then he whipped the reigns and got the horse going once again. He even broke out into a few songs along the way.

Robin glanced at Tharja for a moment before she giggled softly. “Well… I suppose we got our answer.”

Tharja simply shook her head and kept a wary eye on the man, not trusting him one bit. There was nothing wrong with the guy… it’s just Tharja didn’t really like anyone that wasn’t Robin. 

“The child’s alleviating some of the headaches it’s bringing at least,” she ended up saying which received a glare from Robin. “We might even be able to score free food.” 

“Tharja, my child is not a source of pity,” Robin chided, covering said child with her arms. 

“It got us a ride,” Tharja pointed out which made Robin shake her head in disapproval. 

Just as the rain began to feel like drops of ice, they caught sight of a small village up ahead. The only way they could tell there was a small settlement was by the few smoke trails from chimneys they could barely make out through the downpour. 

It wasn’t long before they made it into the heart of the village. Villagers looked out from inside the comforts of their humble abodes to try and see who has rolled into town. The carriage driver everyone knew, but Robin and Tharja were unfamiliar faces in this part of town. The village looked incredibly impoverished, yet not enough to be uncomfortable. It almost gave Robin the vibe that it was a rather pleasant community despite its appearance. Impoverished people were often very generous and thoughtful of others; they too needed to survive and making enemies of their neighbors was an awful idea after all.

“It smells,” Tharja muttered under her breath. 

“Like home,” Robin stated then, a small smile spreading across her features. “Don’t you think?”

“No, but if you think it is then so it shall be,” she consented with a small, defeated sigh. 

Everything about the village was just what Robin had been on the hunt for. It was small and clearly it was not noticed by Ylisstol all that much; right at the edge of the border too. It was so impoverished that the villagers could not afford to send out people to inform Chrom of her whereabouts, nor had the time to. It was here that she could raise her child in peace and it will learn to be humble; not constantly surrounded by luxuries that would spoil it. 

“Well here we are, ladies! It ain’t all that great, but it’s better than being out in the rain, yeah?” the man spoke then, turning to look back at Robin and Tharja with his usual cheeky grin.

“It’s more than enough,” Robin replied kindly while Tharja jumped off the carriage and waited to help Robin off of it.

The man got off the horse and went off to one of the small homes in the village. Tharja and Robin meanwhile sought out shelter by the barn. They were both cold and uncomfortable, but at least they were out of the rain’s torture for now. 

A few minutes later the man exited the home and glanced over at them. He held a few blankets and a change of clothes in his arms for them. “This way!” he called out as he motioned for them to follow him. Quickly he led them to a small house nearby and entered inside with the two women tagging along. “This here is our guest house as you city folk call it. It’s not much, and we don’t have much to offer but a roof over you heads, blankets, and a change of clothes!”

“Again, it’s more than enough, I promise you,” Robin mused as she glanced around the place, which happened to be filthy, dim, and smelled of… well animal dung. 

“Tend to your horse, we’ll be fine,” she added after a while of him just standing there staring at them even after he set the items down. He seemed to remember what he needed to do then and hurried out the door with a dozen apologies. 

“What a sticky old man… Should I hex him?” Tharja muttered in annoyance. She was pretty irritated over the situation they were in, but she truly had no reason to be there. She could have stayed back in Ylisstol… but what life would that be without Robin?

Robin didn’t say anything as she surveyed the home better. It truly was filthy and needed a cleaning. She was quite tempted to pull out her Elwind tome from her robes and blast the dust, dirt, and grime out of the house, but she held herself back. They needed to make sure the villagers were not hostile towards… well mages. She supposed to them they were just witches or mages. If she were to blurt out that she was a tactician and news happened to reach of her disappearance all the way back in this village, she’d be in quite the situation. 

“I think it’s perfect,” Robin blurted out after a moment, glancing over to Tharja who was busy inspecting the amount of dust in the room. She was thoroughly disgusted. 

“It’s far from perfect, Robin,” Tharja scoffed after trying to clean off her dirtied hands. “But nothing a little cleaning can’t fix.”

The smile that spread across Robin’s face after her comment made her feel less bitter about the situation they were in. Robin was happy and that was all that mattered to her. She then set off to clean the place a little bit; mostly for Robin’s sake of course. After a few minutes, they decided that they would worry about it in the morning. With that settled they sat down along the wall that appeared to be the cleanest in the room after changing and eventually passed out.

\-----

They awoke when they heard people setting out to do their morning chores. They were obnoxiously loud and it was much too early for it; but Robin knew that in such a small, run down village, one needed to be up early to start working on chores; kind of like when they were in war camps. But Robin was heavily pregnant now and she did not welcome it all that warmly. 

“Gods… I feel like I didn’t sleep enough,” she grumbled quietly, letting out a small cough to clear her airways from dust. She supposed this wasn’t healthy at all for the child, but it was just for one night. 

“You did not, quite frankly,” Tharja piped up next to her. She appeared to be wide awake compared to Robin who looked like she had had better mornings before. “At one point you were crying, the next laughing, and the other furious. It was an interesting night.” 

Robin stared hard at Tharja, mostly because she couldn’t get her eyes to focus on her just yet, and groaned softly. “Are you serious? I must’ve looked like a madwoman…”

“Possessed more like.”

“You’re not helping…”

Just then, an elderly woman entered the home. Both women assumed she was the head of the village and stood up as a sign of respect; Robin needing help from Tharja to do so of course. She smiled at them and took note of Robin’s protruding bump almost instantly.

“Welcome,” she greeted, nodding to both Robin and Tharja. “We haven’t had guests in years… What brings you two ladies out here? Especially with your condition,” she added as she nodded to Robin. 

“We’ve been looking for a place to settle down,” Robin explained carefully as she tried to rub a few aches from her back. “Is it possible if we could… stay here? We’re more than willing to help out around the village and are quite capable.”

“She’s a few months from giving birth as well,” Tharja added to persuade the old lady further. 

The old woman debated on this for a while, before she smiled brightly once more. “Well… Here the more hands we have, the better it is for all of us. You may stay here if you’d like, but first we have to clean out this home. It’s not healthy for you!

“Come along now, dear,” the old woman exclaimed as she motioned for Robin to follow her out. “This is no place for a pregnant woman right now!”

Robin was now the one struggling to hold back her witty comment as she followed the older lady out with Tharja in tow. Once outside, the old lady ordered some women to clean up the place and make it livable while she went to get them some breakfast and teach them their way of life here. Robin was a little upset when she found out she was to not participate in any of the morning chores until she gave birth, and Tharja was upset she was to start the next day. 

It didn’t take long for them to get into the flow of life here. Quite frankly it was comfortable. Everyone knew each other and helped each other as best as they could. Though despite all this, Robin could not help but feel that she was missing something once more. As much as she loved it out in nature compared to the large city of Ylisstol, she felt almost lonely. It didn’t help that she could never talk about the only past that she remembered to anyone: fighting in the Plegian war with the Shepherds of Ylisstol as their lead tactician. That part she kept to herself and it was another painful weight of lies on her shoulders.


	10. The Secret Revealed

-A year and a half later-

Frederick paced around the halls of the castle, doing his usual patrolling duties before he went to train some of the new recruits. Life had been pretty normal and peaceful; of course there were the occasional bandit problems and rebel groups, but otherwise everything was well. Frederick wasn’t sure whether he was relieved over the fact there was no war or upset. He was always on edge; like the war wasn’t over for him. One could never be too careful, he always reasoned, war could spring up at any moment. But after almost two years, he was starting to wonder if he should at least _try_ to relax like everyone else. 

Besides, he had another pressing matter to deal with at the moment: Robin. She had disappeared for the gods knew what reason and had yet to return. Had she perished in her travels? He found it hard to believe that a simple argument could cause a person to never want to return… right? The conflict between them had not been too abominable to not be mended; all it required was a heartfelt apology, which wouldn’t be hard to do considering he did feel awful about it even after so long, and then mending the wound left. 

Where could she have possibly gone? Was she safe at least? Gods he was just so worried for her that nothing could get her out of his head! No amount of armor and weapon polishing, rigorously training new recruits, and his fanatical fitness hours could stop him from thinking about Robin. He often found himself awake in the middle of the night wondering what he did wrong and how he could fix it, but he could think of nothing else besides that night. That was bad, don’t get him wrong, he knew that, but he tried to mend it and she wanted nothing of it. So then he started to wonder if it was something else and she was furious of the fact that he didn’t know what it was, but he truly couldn’t think of anything. 

“Thinking again, Frederick?” Sumia’s gentle voice snapped him out of his train of thought. 

“Milady,” Frederick greeted politely, smiling ever so slightly at her. He didn’t fail to notice the small frown that graced her features when she heard the title; like Chrom she did not appreciate titles. 

He was also well aware of her protruding belly and was slightly alarmed that she was walking unattended. Everyone knew she was incredibly clumsy and when they learned she was pregnant they, or more like Frederick, set up attendants to keep an eye on her in case she were to trip. It would not bode well with anyone if she were to lose her and Chrom’s child over such a silly incident.

“How are the recruits coming along?” she asked, wanting to initiate small talk as she walked alongside him.

“Well enough. Frankly I’m almost surprised how well they’ve been doing,” Frederick replied, taking it upon himself to escort her back to Chrom.

Sumia went quiet for a moment, seemingly lost in thought beside Frederick as they walked. It wasn’t often that Sumia would speak to him unless she had a pressing matter on her mind. Could this be one of those days? But what could he help with that Chrom couldn’t? She then suddenly sighed and glanced up at Frederick, searching for something in his face that he couldn’t quite place. 

“Do you think she never considered us friends?” she asked and it was then that he knew what she was looking for in his face: signs that her doubts were true. Luckily for her, Frederick wasn’t all that expressive. 

Ah so that was what she had on her mind…It wasn’t all that hard to know that she was speaking about Robin. He was not the only one being plagued by thoughts of her, but rather all of the Shepherds were also affected. Everyone wondered where she had gone and why they had not heard a word from her. Robin wasn’t rash; she either despised them or she had no form of communication… There was also the debate about whether it had nothing to do with either of those and she had met her end somewhere.

“She did,” Frederick assured her, “She wouldn’t have bothered making an effort to speak to us otherwise.”

“What if it was all just a strategic advantage?” 

“Milady, these thoughts of yours could prove harmful to your child… Ease your mind. Robin would never treat us in such a way,” Frederick countered, trying to ease Sumia’s mind while also working on his own. 

“I suppose you’re right…” Sumia sighed out, “I should not think of such awful things- Ah!” 

Sumia found herself suddenly falling forward, having missed a step in the stairs. Luckily for her, it was for such reasons that Frederick brought it upon himself to escort her back to Chrom. His hand shot out and quickly took hold of her arm to keep her from falling flat on her face right as he bent forward and hooked his other arm around her to help her onto her feet without having to pull her arm. Such an action could have injured her after all. 

“Thanks, Frederick,” Sumia mumbled in pure embarrassment while she fixed her dress. 

Right as Frederick went to reply, Chrom came into view from around the corner. Judging by his distressed expression he was looking for Sumia. The second he saw Frederick next to his beloved, he seemed to relax and smiled gratefully at Frederick. His attention moved back to Sumia as he went straight up to her and took her hands in his.

“Are you alright? You didn’t fall, right?” Chrom was quick to ask while looking for any sort of injury. “You know those boots of yours are very unreliable!”

Frederick did his best to not sigh disappointedly; after all this time, he would have thought Chrom would understand that Sumia was unfortunately extremely clumsy and it had little to do with her boots. Sumia seemed to be mentally kicking herself for using that as an explanation once upon a time, but she never tried to come clean; the truth was much too embarrassing for her. 

“I’m alright and no, I did not fall… Frederick made sure of that,” Sumia eased her husband’s mind with a small smile. 

“Always the reliable one…” Chrom mused about Frederick as he glanced at said individual who sent him a small nod in return. “Thanks again, Frederick.” 

“Certainly, milord,” Frederick responded with a small shrug of his shoulders. This truly was no big deal for him. It was his job after all. 

“Actually I wanted to discuss something with you, Frederick,” Chrom began once he finally broke his attention from his beautiful pregnant wife who couldn’t be any more perfect in his eyes at the moment. “Do you have the time?”

“Of course, whatever might it be?” Frederick questioned with a slight tilt of his head. What were they to discuss? Did something come up? An outbreak of Risen perhaps? 

“We’ll discuss that in the council room,” Chrom began and turned his attention back to Sumia. “You, on the other hand, have a… meeting with the girls. They said it was of utmost importance. I wish you didn’t have to go, but the girls were not having it.”

“What could possibly be more important than what you’re to discuss with Frederick?” Sumia protested, wanting to be there for Chrom and whatever he was dealing with. 

It was then that Lissa, Cordelia, and Maribelle emerged from the gods knew where and strolled up to Sumia. Lissa snatched her hands and pulled her down the hall while Maribelle muttered something about the Exalt’s child needing exquisite outfits and Cordelia made sure no incidents occurred. Sumia struggled at first, but after a while she gave up and followed them to wherever it was they were going to take her. It was going to be a long day for her…

Frederick watched them leave, worried for Sumia and the child, but he eventually relaxed after he convinced himself that Cordelia would care for her well enough. He had other pressing matters to deal with at the moment… It’s not like she was alone after all. He then turned his attention back to Chrom and raised a questioning eyebrow. Chrom was quick to catch on to the question and motioned for him to follow.

Now Frederick found himself following Chrom as they headed to the council room. It seemed that whatever he wanted to discuss was quite the serious or private matter. If Frederick were to be honest, he was a bit upset that his chores kept being interrupted. He had many things to do and he doubted anyone would keep track of them. 

Once they reached the council room, Chrom seated himself in a chair and his expression turned troubled. He stared directly at the wall behind Frederick as if he were trying to come up with the right way to bring whatever was on his mind to light. After a few quiet minutes, Chrom sighed and looked up at Frederick still wearing that same troubled expression. 

“It’s been far too long,” he began slowly, fiddling with his fingers as he struggled to come up with the right words. “You don’t think… Could it be possible that Robin perished somehow?” he finished, clearly worried for his dearest friend. 

Frederick didn’t know how to respond to him and simply stared. “I’m not sure, milord. I’m beginning to wonder the same thing, unfortunately.”

“Surely she would have at least written us a letter or two in the span of time she’s been gone… But we’ve received nothing,” Chrom reasoned, hoping he was wrong in all of this. 

“Let’s not assume she’s died yet, milord,” Frederick began in an attempt to ease his lord’s mind next. “She could potentially be in a place where she has no such luxuries as paper and ink…” 

“Wouldn’t she send a messenger then?” Chrom countered which honestly left Frederick without another argument against his statement. 

“Robin’s a strange woman…” Frederick began awkwardly, trying to form a coherent and reasonable sentence. “As strange as she is, she must have a reason for this silence. I highly doubt she’s passed, though I fear it a possibility.”

“How would you know?”

“I just have a feeling, milord. How could someone with as much tactical prowess as Robin perish so easily? There are no longer enemy soldiers; the only threats are the occasional Risen and bandits,” Frederick reasoned again.

Chrom grew quiet again and stared at his long time friend for what felt like an eternity. He was trying to understand what could have upset Robin so. What argument had these two level headed friends gotten into and why? Frederick spoke with high praise and never once seemed to treat her wrong… well except in the beginning when they first came across the amnesiac, but Frederick treated her with as much respect as he gave to his comrades now. Maybe it was time Chrom dug into this matter a little deeper… It’s been almost two years after all. 

“Frederick, forgive me for prying, but…” Chrom began, his eyes narrowing ever so slightly. “What exactly did you do to Robin that caused conflict between the two of you?” 

Frederick grew ever uncomfortable as the silence between them became heavy. Could he tell his lord something as despicable as to what he’d done? Would his lord feel disgust and anger towards him? It was then that Frederick stopped all his negative thoughts on the matter. Why keep it a secret, especially from someone like Chrom: his lord and long time friend? Chrom would never judge him in such a way; he might be disappointed in him if anything. It was time he owned up to what he had done. This may be a private matter between the two of them, but Robin was his lord’s best friend and tactician. If anyone deserved to know what had upset her so much to make her leave, it would be Chrom. 

“Frederick?” Chrom repeated, his stare now turning into a glare. He must’ve done something unforgivable to her if he’s so quiet about it. 

“We engaged in intercourse one night,” Frederick said quickly and quietly, heat rising to his cheeks in pure shame and embarrassment. “I… then tried to disregard the matter entirely and pretend that it never happened to put it simply.”

Chrom didn’t know what to think. One minute he was close to punching the shit out of Frederick, the next he was stunned to silence. His two closest friends had sex with each other right under everyone’s noses. How the hell did they pull that off in a war camp? How did no one knew this had happened? He didn’t know whether to go along with punching Frederick or congratulating him and Robin’s skills at keeping things quiet. 

“…I don’t believe I needed to know that much,” Chrom muttered with a small, awkward cough while a faint blush tinted his cheeks a few moments later.

“You would have kept asking about it otherwise,” Frederick snapped, now feeling twice as embarrassed as he had been. 

“Yeah but…” Chrom struggled for a few moments before he sighed and shook his head. “Never mind that. You’re telling me that you two engage in… frivolous activities and then you pretend like it never happened?” 

“Well I more told her that it had been nothing…” 

“You _told_ her?!” Chrom exclaimed, “By the gods, Frederick! I’m surprised she didn’t kill you! That’s an extremely insensitive and ignorant thing to do; even I know that!”

Frederick sighed deeply and ran a hand over his face in shame. He expected something like this, perhaps worse than this, but still he felt like a kicked puppy. He stayed quiet while Chrom just groaned and ran a hand over his face. It was clear his lord didn’t think such a thing could ever happen. 

“I’d expect such a thing from someone else, not you,” he said again, adding more insult to injury. 

“I know,” Frederick sighed out, looking quite defeated then. “I seemed to have realized my mistake much too late for she refused to accept my apology…”

“I wouldn’t say it was late,” Chrom began, now trying to comfort his friend while trying to get rid of the mental image he has of the two of them in a tent—Oh gods he wasn’t helping himself. “She probably needed some space while she processed the apology. She’s definitely not an unforgiving person; especially to those who truly meant what they said.”

“Then why has she yet to return?” Frederick blurted out without much thought. When he realized what he had said, he felt embarrassed. One of his most troubling thoughts was exposed by him; that he had caused her to leave. 

Chrom smiled sadly and shook his head. “I don’t believe you were part of the reason she left. The letter she wrote mentioned that she didn’t feel welcomed. A personal problem was mentioned as well, but now I’m starting to wonder if that personal problem really has to do with you.”

Frederick raised an eyebrow at Chrom’s speculations. What was he thinking? 

“I mean, Robin isn’t unreasonable, we’ve established that,” Chrom began, “And you already apologized sincerely I presume, so whatever problem you two had between yourselves was in the process of mending itself. So then… Whatever this personal problem was had nothing to do with you. At least that’s what I think.”

“If that’s so then what could this problem possibly be?” Frederick wondered. 

Right as they were going to discuss probable problems, a knock at the door interrupted them. They glanced towards the door as Chrom gave them permission to enter. It was a messenger. The messenger stood by the door and cleared her throat to announce whatever news she brought for Chrom… and now Frederick. 

“Libra has returned and he’s requested an audience with you, Your Excellency,” she stated masterfully. Frederick was quite pleased by the messenger’s tone and deliverance of the message; it could not have been said any better.

“Libra?” Chrom repeated for a moment before he recalled the monk and smiled. “Tell him to come right in!” Now Frederick was unimpressed by his lord’s tone and deliverance; much too casual still. 

The messenger nodded and hurried to gather said male. After a few minutes, Libra walked through the doors. The messenger bowed and left quickly, closing the door behind her as she did. Libra still looked as young as ever; the pilgrimage clearly did not take much of a toll on him. 

“How was your pilgrimage?” Chrom inquired pleasantly.

“It could not have gone smoother,” Libra replied as he stood in the room and glanced at Chrom and Frederick almost quizzically. “Pardon for the sudden question, but where’s Robin? I would have thought she would be here.”

The looks he received from Chrom and Frederick did not ease Libra’s mind at all. He had arrived hoping to find Robin caring for her small toddler somewhere in the castle, but she was nowhere to be found. So he assumed she’d be here with Chrom, but that’s clearly not the case. So then… where was she?

“She’s gone,” Frederick stated in Chrom’s stead, quickly moving to add the next part of the possible question Libra would ask next. “She left right after you had. Nobody knows where she is or how she’s doing.”

Libra couldn’t breathe. Robin had left shortly after him? But she was heavily with child at the time! Where in Naga’s name could she have gone?! And there was no word from her since then?! Did she encounter some trouble during birth?

“Did she ever speak of her situation? She had promised me she would speak with…” Libra began but stopped himself once he was greeted with confused glances. 

“No… She had left a note mentioning something about feeling out of place and a personal problem, but I’m not aware of anything specific,” Chrom responded, now curious as to what Libra knew. 

“Truthfully?” Libra wondered, his eyes narrowing in what appeared to be anger. “I cannot believe she’d do such a thing…!” 

“Nobody really expected her to leave so suddenly either,” Chrom agreed, unaware that Libra was angered about something totally different. 

Now Libra stood before Chrom and Frederick with a very heavy and guilty conscience. He had left thinking that Robin would come clean and everything would have been fixed by the time he returned from his pilgrimage, but by the gods was he wrong. Not only had she left, but she was quite literally missing. Whatever happened to her? Was she even alive? Was the child? So many thoughts plagued his mind now. He knew something of importance that nobody knew, but him. What if she was in trouble or even died during childbirth? They deserved to know what happened to their dear friend and tactician. 

But he had made a promise to Robin. He couldn’t tell them of the baby, but the longer he stood there staring at the two men, the more awful he felt. He had gone on his pilgrimage and promised the gods that he would never keep another important secret ever again thinking that Robin’s secret had already been revealed. He couldn’t possibly lie and still keep the secret. These were crucial times and nobody knew of her whereabouts. He needed to tell them of the child; they deserved to know something about their missing friend. It could potentially be a big part of the reason why she’s missing and it angered him beyond belief to think that it was. She had decided to run away instead of facing her problem head on… If only he knew who the father was he could have just told the father and let it all play out instead of involving Chrom and the lieutenant.

“Libra? Is something wrong?” Chrom asked, noticing how pale the war monk had gotten. 

“Perhaps you know something about Robin that we do not?” Frederick added.

“Yes,” Libra finally caved, deciding that he would deal with Robin later, but that for now he would keep his promise to the gods. “She had asked me to keep this a secret, so please keep this between the two of you for now while we try to figure out what’s happened to her…” 

Chrom and Frederick froze on the spot. Robin and Libra had kept a secret; A secret that could potentially be the reason why she had left in the first place? What could this be?

“Robin had… intimate activities with a fellow comrade during the war—“ Libra began.

“Frederick already confirmed that much,” Chrom cut him off almost instantly. 

Libra’s eyes widened ever so slightly as he focused on Frederick. “You mean…?”

“Unless she’s had multiple partners, yes, that comrade would be me,” Frederick muttered, raising an eyebrow at Libra, whatever shame and embarrassment on the topic he had clearly gone for now. Where was this going? It clearly looked like Libra had much more to say. 

Well he accidentally came across the father to Robin’s child in the process. At least he’s involved at last. To be quite honest, Libra didn’t think it was going to be this hard to tell Frederick about his possible child with Robin… Now he could almost understand what Robin had been going through. _Almost._

“Libra?” Frederick urged desperately wanting to know if it truly was him that caused all this mess with Robin or not. 

“I don’t really know how to put this subtly, but,” Libra strained to say, but he took in a deep breath and glanced at the floor so as to not lose the nerve he had built to break his promise to Robin. “Robin was pregnant.” 

“Wait, what?” Chrom said a split second later, staring at Libra in shock. “Did I hear that right?”

“She was pregnant,” Libra repeated feeling relief wash over him as he finally got this pressing matter off his chest. “Remember she was feeling unwell during the war and she had gone to see me? It turned out she was around two months into her pregnancy. She made me swear to keep it a secret and that she would tell the father of the child after the war. Judging by your reactions she never said a word about it.”

Chrom wasn’t breathing by this point. The personal problem she had mentioned in the letter, could it have been that she was pregnant? Never mind that, there was also the thought that she had ran off, into the gods knew where, with a developing, unborn child in her womb! Out there in the wilds where dangers lurked at every corner! What was she even thinking?! 

“Truthfully I may have not said anything,” Libra began again, “But since nobody knows of what’s become of her, I worry she may have… not survived the birth of the child. I couldn’t possibly keep this secret any longer if that were to be the case.” 

Chrom turned to look at Frederick once he had processed everything to see how he was holding up, only to realize the man looked like he was about to kill someone or cry, or both. Chrom was on his feet in a second and urged Frederick to take a seat where he had been previously. He practically had to push him into the chair because Frederick was barely breathing and rigid. 

“Forgive me, Frederick. Had I known you could potentially be the father, I would have told you sooner,” Libra muttered, not daring to look said man in the eye. Truly there was no better man to tell this to but Frederick; he would have stepped up in a second. 

“It all makes sense now,” Frederick breathed out as he tried to still his anger and frustration. 

“What does?” Chrom dared first to ask. 

“She was extremely irritable and unreasonable whenever I attempted to speak with her,” he answered. “I always thought it was because of that night, but _this…_ ” he growled out the last word. 

To say he was angry was an understatement. He was seething. How could she have kept such a thing from him?! What did she think he was going to do, demand she get rid of it?! Get angry at her?! Gods forbid he would ever demand such a thing! He adored her! He _loved_ her. He loved her more than he had ever loved the royal siblings. It was his dream to have Robin as his lover and future wife; to have a family with her even! Maybe things hadn’t gone according to the sequence of his dreams, but gods he would have been pleasantly surprised or stunned at the news! He would have supported her through everything and told her how much he actually loved her! He could have seen his child being born and learned how to care for it by her side!

But no. She took it all from him. She had given birth- _if_ she had given birth- to his child in the middle of nowhere and he wasn’t there. He had no idea whether it had been a boy or a girl or hell if it’s even dead along with her. Not only did he miss the birth of his child, but he had also missed so much of the child’s development over the last few months; it probably learned words and how to walk or at least in the process of. What if it thought that his father didn’t care about it? Gods how badly he wanted to scream and hit something! How could she have done such a thing to him?! Was this punishment for what he had done? Because if it was, it was worse; much worse than he had ever done. 

”Take a breath, Frederick,” Chrom said quietly, concern evident on his face for his friend’s welfare. He looked like he was going to destroy the castle in his rage. 

“Pardon me, milord, but taking a breath will not help at all!” Frederick yelled, slamming his hands on the table before them where countless deals and plans were made before as he stood up abruptly. It was a pleasant surprise for Chrom that the table had not broken under the sheer power of the hit. Chrom had never seen Frederick this furious before, so he was unsure whether he should comfort the man or leave him be.

“Perhaps it’s time we look for her,” Libra began quietly, earning the attention of the two men across from him. “To see whether if she’s died or not… and what may have happened to the child.”

“I believe it’s time we do another search for her now. Especially considering the new circumstances we’ve come across,” Chrom agreed, debating on what would be the best way to go about it. After some thought Chrom nodded to himself and glanced up at Frederick. “Shall we use Gaius?” 

“Gaius?” Libra repeated in disbelief. 

“He’s surprisingly great at gathering information without getting spotted,” Chrom explained. 

But their chatter was broken up by Frederick who nodded and demanded they get Gaius immediately. It didn’t take long for the candy lover to make his way into the council room where they were gathered. Mostly because of the urgency of the message, because otherwise he would have taken his sweet time to get there. 

“What is it now?” Gaius muttered, chewing on whatever candy was unlucky enough to come across him. He quickly dropped the annoyed tone when he saw the raw anger on Frederick’s expression and Chrom and Libra’s distressed ones. 

“Think you can find Robin’s whereabouts?” Chrom began. 

“Uh… I mean I could try, but we haven’t got an idea as to where she’s at,” Gaius explained awkwardly. 

“I’ll pay you with a year’s worth of the best sweets in Ylisstol, Regna Ferox, and even Plegia,” Frederick literally sweetened the deal for Gaius. 

“Shit, I’ll find her in under a month,” Gaius quickly said as he fixed his clothes a little before he would leave. “Would that be all? Find Bubbles?”

“B…Bubbles?” Chrom repeated in confusion. 

“Great, ‘cause I’ll be heading out now,” Gaius exclaimed as he hurried out the door to gather the supplies he needed (mostly candy) for his trip. 

“I must excuse myself,” Frederick said quietly to Chrom and Libra once Gaius had left, seeming to be trying to control his anger still. He was beginning to worry about possibly hurting Chrom if he stayed any longer… He truly was out of control right now.

“Please do,” Chrom agreed and motioned for the armored lieutenant to leave the room. No sooner had Chrom given him the permission to, Frederick was storming out to take out his frustrations through exercises. Forget the recruits for today.

“Now we just wait…” Libra sighed out, feeling slightly guilty that he potentially brought a world of troubles for Robin if she was alive…

\----

“Hasn’t it been too long?”

Robin snapped out of her thoughts and turned to Tharja who had just asked her a question she wasn’t sure what it could refer towards. 

“Hm? What’s been too long?” she asked the female as she watched her make dinner. Robin was too much of a disaster to be trusted in the stove and Tharja was surprisingly a good cook. Her “normal” lessons taught her the importance of making a good meal. 

“Since you’ve left.”

“Has it? I feel like it has been like… a few months?”

“It’s been a year and a half.”

“A year and a-“ Robin cut herself short from the shock of it. She hadn’t even realized it had been that long! She could have sworn it had been like six months at least! By the gods time flew by faster than she thought it did… 

“THEY HAVEN’T HEARD ANYTHING FROM ME IN A YEAR AND A HALF!” Robin practically screamed when it dawned on her. “They must be worried sick! Oh gods do we have paper and ink?!”

“No we don’t. That’s one of the reasons why you haven’t written anything to them or have you forgotten already?” Tharja replied calmly, knowing that Robin was losing track of just about everything thanks to the child. She had even forgotten to pee for almost twelve hours once. 

“Oh gods damn it,” Robin sighed out, placing her face in her hands for a moment. “What do I do?”

“You could ignore it like you’ve been doing thus far.”

“You’re a terrible influence, you know that? Raising Morgan around you is a bad idea.”

“You’d both be starving without me.” 

“Shut up.” 

Her only response was a small, weird giggle from Tharja. The woman drove her up a wall at times, but she truly was a great help. The villagers would help out as well, but none were as dedicated as Tharja… Mostly because she had threatened her repeatedly about endangering the life of her precious Morgan. 

“Can you go deliver a message to them?”

“You’d burn down the village in a day, be homeless, and have to raise your child on dirt. Then you’d have to resort to selling your body for pro-“ 

“Now you’re just being ridiculous.”

“Am I?”

Robin chose not to answer. She may be right with that. Robin would definitely do anything for Morgan’s sake, no matter how low it may be. Gods forgive her. 

“We could just go back. All you have to deal with is Frederick’s anger,” Tharja suggested nonchalantly. 

“ _’All you have to deal with is Frederick’s anger’_ ,” Robin mocked, eyes narrowed at Tharja. “You do realize Frederick is figuratively a bear, right?” 

“As much as I hate to admit it,” Tharja began, turning to face Robin now that the food was in no danger of burning. “You can’t keep running away. They’ll find you one day and it’s not going to go well.”

“Tharja…” Robin sighed out, not appreciating her sudden honesty and truthful words. 

She knew it herself that she needed to face her fears. Now that her hormones were out of the way, she was able to think clearly for the past year and knew that she couldn’t keep this up. The sooner she got this over with, the less furious Frederick would be... or more like she wouldn’t have to deal with his anger later. Besides, what if Tharja was just scaring her? Maybe Frederick would be more forgiving of her… right?

“Mama.”

A small blabber reached their ears as they stood there in tense silence. They both turned towards the sound to see a small child waddling his way towards them. Robin immediately forgot about the topic at hand and quickly went to his side before he could fall flat on his face while Tharja turned back to the food. It’s not that Tharja didn’t like Morgan it’s just that he literally looked like a mini copy of Frederick and it would annoy her. 

“What is it?” Robin cooed, letting Morgan waddle the last few steps towards her and held him up by his chubby arms. “How’d you get out of your crib?” 

Morgan just giggled happily as he reached up and pulled on Robin’s hair, much to her dismay. She sighed and scooped up the toddler into her arms and went back to Tharja. Tharja shrugged at Robin’s questioning look of whether or not Tharja knew how he had climbed out of the crib because she honestly didn’t. Maybe he was possessed by an evil spirit that helped him climb out.

Robin stared at Morgan for what felt like an eternity while the child babbled away words and chewed on her hair despite the many “no”s she threw his way. Was this fair for him? Was it fair that she selfishly kept him away from his father just because she was afraid of the consequences her actions would bring? 

“You’re despicable, Robin,” she whispered sadly to herself as she ruffled Morgan’s surprisingly thick hair tufts and earned a few happy squeals from the innocent child in her arms. 

No, it truly wasn’t fair.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry if it seems a bit rushed or even OOC ;u; I was struggling to write this and basically just want to get through these parts like the rest of you guys XDDD but we can't just skip to the good parts so we must all suffer through these godawful chapters ;D -internally crying-


	11. Discovered

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hallelujah here I am with your monthly dose of this story. Hope this will have some of you screaming vuv  
> I had written a draft first and i hated it so much that I had to start from scratch which, unfortunately, prolonged things XD It doesn't help that school has been hectic, my hedgehog died, and Monster Hunter World came out mid January >u>;;;

Inhale…

Exhale…

She watched him breathe as he slept for the night in the safety of the crib the villagers were kind enough to build for him. She didn’t think she could love someone any more than she did her friends, but she was wrong. The love she had for this child was immeasurable; he had become her whole world. 

Robin found it hard to believe that there had once been a possibility that he almost didn’t make it. Such a strong and feisty kid being so close to death was hard to picture, but it had almost happened. She knew giving birth would be difficult, but she could never prepare herself for the excruciating pain of that day. She could barely remember it, if she were to be honest, but all she knew was that she would have much rather been stabbed in the leg a dozen times than go through that ordeal again. 

The day had started innocently enough: waddling through the house, keeping things as clean and tidy as she could muster, then settling down to stare at the ceiling in pure boredom since her child made any activity painful and difficult… and then her water broke. She wasn’t sure what to think of it at first, but once the first contractions began she had to rush to get help. Next thing she knew, she was in a different room, with a bunch of people who all apparently had some level of midwife experience, and the chief was there. She had been in so much pain that she could barely register anything. It seemed that they were concerned with her hips being a little too small for comfort and their fears proved true hours later when she couldn’t push Morgan out. Took a couple more hours of motivation and sheer willpower on Robin’s part to succeed, but she did end up torn up. Morgan had barely survived the ordeal and she was close to losing consciousness, and possibly her life, but everyone worked hard to keep her and Morgan stable. Miraculously they had both survived the ordeal, though weakened for several weeks after.

She sighed softly and ran her fingers through his small tuft of hair lovingly. Had she stayed in the castle, things may have gone smoother. With so many healers on hand, surely a couple spells would have helped compared to everyone using natural remedies and prayers. But that’s all in the past; she’s still alive and so is Morgan… though Tharja was rather upset about the situation. Robin was pretty sure she had been close to crying.

As she stared at her son’s face longer, she could not help but think about a pressing concern which had been increasing after Morgan was born, and was made worse a couple weeks ago: she felt lost. Here she was with her world, her child, and she felt utterly lost. She kept thinking back on everyone in Ylisstol; they would have helped her find her way through things. They would have taken care of Morgan whenever she was too busy to instead of leaving him with a practical stranger. She could joke, talk about the war, and hell, even strategies; how much she missed coming up with a strategy to solve some major problem! Here in the village the few strategies she came up with were much too simple such as: how much to hunt to keep the village fed, what to do to reinforce the houses, and when would be a good time to start farming among other things. 

Point of the matter was that she missed being in Ylisstol and she dearly missed the only people she’s come to know in her short life; the ones who were there when she awoke with amnesia. As time passed here in the village, it only became clearer to her that they were the only true family she had. She didn’t know if it was because of her hormones during her pregnancy, but her home was Ylisstol despite what she had thought previously. Those hormones must’ve made her unstable and ridiculous over a single inconvenience in her life. So what if she had problems with Frederick? That didn’t mean she had problems with everyone else. Now she had made her situation much more difficult to fix than it originally was. Now she needed not only apologize to Frederick, but everyone else as well.

How badly she wanted to go home, but she had grown attached to this village and the people within it. They had been so nice to her and Tharja despite their… suspicious origins. They never asked where they hailed from, why they were so fit, or even where they got all the scars that they had. All they did was smile and treat them like any other person within the village. They must have been quite desperate for help to not even think twice about who they were. It made it hard to leave, wondering if they would do well without them around, or if they would be attacked by bandits in their absence.

Robin sighed softly and pulled Morgan’s sheets closer to his small body, before she moved over to her stiff bed. She stared at the ceiling for a few minutes, lost within her conflicting thoughts. The one thing that stood out in her mind out of everything was that she needed to get to Frederick and come clean. 

It was for Morgan and for Frederick. If she has to live the rest of her life hated by Frederick for what she’d done, so be it. 

\----

If he were a Bubbles, where would he be?

Is what Gaius kept repeating in his head the past couple weeks as he searched for said tactician. He failed to take into account how difficult it would be to track down a tactician; someone who thinks about every single step and breath they take before they take action. 

He had searched all the way up to Regna Ferox, before he had given up and moved to the warmer temperatures of Ylisse. He wanted to give up the search considering his stash of candy was beginning to run dry. How was he supposed to do this without a sucker?! But the Nanny’s promise gave him pause… To have all the candies from all three nations in the continent, it would be a dream come true! He cursed the man daily for making the deal so sweet.

Though, he couldn’t help but wonder why the sudden desperation to find Robin after almost two years? That Nanny appeared to be more pissed than usual, and Blue looked heavily concerned as well when he had been summoned that day into the throne room. Is there war on the horizon and that’s why they appeared so out of sorts and want Robin so badly? Or perhaps some scandal popped up around Bubbles?

“Agh, why do I care? Just find Bubbles and be done with it,” Gaius exclaimed after he went through a couple more situations and scenarios in his head. 

So here he was again, wondering where Bubbles went into hiding. It could not be a village for that would be too obvious, but it could also not be somewhere outside of Ylisse. What’s Robin to do in war torn Plegia? There were still rebel bands in Plegia from the war and people recovering from it; not the smartest idea. Regna Ferox was just too cold and from what he remembered, Bubbles didn’t handle the cold well; made her sleepy. Overall she would have to be somewhere here in Ylisse. But where exactly? He had no idea. 

Perhaps it was time for him to take a small break, clear his head, and restock on candy. He sure wasn’t going to find Robin any time soon while he was frustrated, tired, and ever hungry. The only problem was that he didn’t know this area all that well. Back when he was a thief, his group would avoid these areas since they usually didn’t contain all that many goods. He had ended up between the border of Plegia and Ylisse, where villages here were often pillaged by Plegians back when tensions were thick between the two nations. 

So now he found himself in the middle of nowhere, searching for a nearby village he hoped to restock on. He doubted any of them had much to offer, but if he could just find information about the area and where some villages might be located then he would be set. From there he could figure out his next plan of action. 

The good news was that he found a somewhat well travelled road. So there were only two possible ways he could go from here for now: left or right. With a deep breath, he decided to go left. 

It wasn’t long before he heard someone talking to themselves on the road about the things they needed to gather before nightfall. Gaius wondered whether or not he should speak with them and ask where the nearest village was. But if he were to be honest, he wasn’t the best talker and often came off as aloof… probably even more so now that he had avoided eating candy all day so that he could save what he had left for when he really needed it. Well no one said he had to be nice about it; Bubbles wasn’t here to tell him otherwise. With that in mind, he hid himself nearby as he waited for them; he would just have to do what he did best: threaten them.

It was then that the person came to view, a woman, carrying a bag of goods on her back… A merchant. Though something was familiar about the woman with bright red hair. Without much thought, he stepped out from his hiding spot and stood on the road in front of the woman. She stopped in her tracks but instead of becoming fearful, she smiled happily and eyed him carefully. 

“My, are you going to rob me?” she asked him, the same unnerving smile on her face. 

Well… yes, but it seemed that his initial plan to scare her with the notion of it would not work on this woman by her reaction to him.

“Thought about it,” Gaius mused as he tapped the sword at his side out of annoyance. “But that would be a bit troublesome it seems.”

“Smart man,” the woman hummed happily, glancing at the sword briefly, but showing little to no concern yet again. “You look like you want something though.”

“A merchant ought to know where all the villages are,” he pointed out as he narrowed his eyes. “So then, do you?”

“Sure I do! But,” she snapped suddenly and her smile only widened. “It will cost you.”

Damn. Now he knew why this woman seemed so familiar! It was that damned Anna and her ridiculously priced goods that Chrom and the others often negotiated with… or at least _one_ of them. 

“Of course it will. What else could I expect from you, Anna?” he huffed, his frown deepening further. Negotiating was not his strong suit; he’d give away the whole capitol for candy if he was given the option!

“Oh? Have we met before?”

“No, but I’ve had the… fortune of meeting a couple of your sisters during the war.”

“Oh! Are you a valued costumer then?”

“Uh…sure?”

“In that case I’ll give you the information you seek for half price!”

“…Or free.”

“Hmmm… Alright how about you buy something from me and I’ll give you the information for free, yes?”

“That’s not any better,” but then a thought struck him. “… You wouldn’t happen to have candy on you right?”

The mischievous glint in her eye told Gaius he would be walking out of here with an empty coin purse.

“…I’ll take all that you have,” he said quickly, almost desperately. 

Several minutes later of emptying pockets and filling them with either candy or coins, Anna told him of a nearby village that has had a bit of an economical boom in the last year. She thought it was somewhat of a miracle considering the last few times she had gone in the past the village was practically a mess. When she had asked the villagers how they had managed it, they credited all to one person that had randomly appeared one day.

That caught his attention right quick. One person suddenly appearing out of the blue and helping the village so efficiently to where their prosperity was almost considered a miracle? That was suspicious as hell. Only one person came to mind that could fit that description and that was Bubbles. As a tactician, coming up with solutions to problems during battle was a great ability of hers; there were no doubts she could easily flip her tactical prowess for something so mundane. 

With thanks to Anna and an uncomfortably empty coin purse, Gaius made his way down to the village. He was careful in his approach in case Robin happened to be out and about. Nobody specified it, but he had a feeling he wasn’t supposed to be spotted by her. After all, Bubbles doesn’t just up and leave for no reason. Something must definitely be up. 

It wasn’t long until he came across the village. It was early morning by the time he had reached it and the place was already bustling with activity. He lingered in the outskirts of it, taking in all the sights and sounds of it. It truly did look like a miracle had struck this place. There seemed to be an increase in trade and construction around the small village, not to mention crops were growing remarkably well too. Usually villages around these parts were run down and could not afford anything. While it seems not a lot of people have discovered the village’s goods yet, they were in the beginning processes of it. 

His thoughts froze when he heard a familiar voice ring through the village. It was so clear compared to the muffled chatter of the other citizens. His eyes scanned for her among the few villagers out and about, but at last he found her, his eyes catching sight of her pale, almost white blonde locks. He found her. He found Bubbles. 

She was chatting with some villager who held the hand of a small child that didn’t look all too happy about it. She finished whatever she was talking about and gave the child a quick ruffle to the head and walked off to some place he had no line of sight of. His attention snapped back to where Robin had been standing previously with the villager and child to see Tharja right there as well. Interesting… So this is where they’ve been all this time?

He supposed it was time to return to Ylisstol and inform Frederick and Chrom of Robin’s whereabouts and that she’s very much alive. Feeling accomplished, he popped out a sucker and promptly stuck it in his mouth. This was something worth celebrating. To think she would have hidden in a village… He would have found her much faster had he just gone with the obvious. Clearly Robin was clever enough to do what everyone would think is the least likely thing she would do.

With news to deliver, Gaius was quick to leave the scene, all thoughts of rest and food out of his mind for now. Who wouldn’t when someone promised the world of candy for this information?

\-----

In the last couple weeks, Frederick had managed to calm down enough to function like usual, but that did not mean he was not infuriated with Robin. First of all, he was worried sick about her whether or not she had lived while carrying his child, second, he wasn’t even sure if the child ever came to be if she was alive, and third, he was still pissed about what she had done. All she had to do was tell him when she first found out and he would have worked with her!

He found it hard to believe that Robin would do such a thing at times when he would sit by himself and contemplate. From the short time they had been with Robin, Frederick had established that she was an honest person and wasn’t much for lying, or had that all been a farce? Perhaps she even had more secrets that she kept hidden from them all along especially those of her past that she claimed to not know about. Who’s to say the whole amnesia story was made up?

Somewhere in his heart Frederick knew better though. Robin appeared to be genuinely confused and lost about her past whenever someone inquired about it; one could not simply fake such a reaction so effortlessly. With that in mind to ease his doubts and frustrations, he turned to the next possible reasoning as to why she had done what she did: hormones. He had heard that some women became hysterical and unreasonable during certain situations, and judging by the situation Robin was dealing with, it was easy to see why that was a possibility. Telling a man whom she assumed only wanted to have a one night stand and nothing more with her that she was pregnant with his child would be enough to send her into a frenzied state. If only she knew that he loved her, even in his rather pissed off state he still could not shake his worries and love for the woman despite the urge to smack her across the face, though heavily frowned upon, was quite strong. Not that he would, of course.

This would have all been avoided had he admitted his feelings to her instead of running away like some cowardly brigand. He was as much to blame as Robin in this whole matter. Had he come clean earlier- hells if he had told her the very same night that he loved her- she would never had had whatever feelings told her to run away because of her pregnancy, or that she was lost and alone. She would have known she had a man who loved her and would love the child she carried, though unprecedented, just as much as he did her. She would have also had someone to turn to whenever she felt lost; she would have been his lover or even wife, the one thing she knew would never change.

In all, he simply hated himself and the troubles he brought upon himself and Robin…

“Ah, Frederick.”

He snapped out of his thoughts as he looked up at whoever it was that addressed him. To his surprise it was Panne. 

“Panne,” he sighed out and forced a smile upon his features. “Do you require my assistance for something?”

“No, I was passing by and happened to find you standing here looking troubled. You’re extremely upset about something, I can feel it,” she answered simply, her sharp gaze tearing into his own. 

“It’s nothing of concern, I assure you,” he protested, not wanting to discuss this any further. 

“It appears your mood has been affecting everyone though. It is never wise to take out frustration on fellow comrades.”

Frederick could only sigh again. “I know… forgive me, good lady, I’ve just been out of sorts with worry and anger. It will come to pass in due time.”

“From what I’ve gathered it’s been weeks, Frederick,” she said, her eyes narrowing ever slightly. “It is in your best interest to change your mood if at all possible. It is not right or healthy.”

“I know, Panne. I’m trying, but this matter is simply so… infuriating. I will get better once I am able to find the source of my problems, I assure you.”

“You man-spawn love living in the past and therefore create more problems for everyone involved,” she snapped suddenly, eyes narrowed at him. “It is better for you to speak now before you hurt someone with your behavior. Then you will be able to move on.”

Frederick was taken aback by her sudden words, but he knew her to be blunt and honest when needed to be. She had a different perspective than everyone here, so at times her words were quite knowledgeable. 

“Panne, while I appreciate your concern, this is a matter I cannot openly discuss. I was not even supposed to know of it in the first place…”

“Judging by your reaction now, whoever kept the matter from you this long was wise enough to. They more than likely predicted this behavior from you and grew fearful to voice the matter,” Panne said flatly, her ear slightly twitching. “Is that not the problem?”

He honestly had no idea how she could figure out things so easily, or how she knew it was about someone and not something. 

“…I… suppose you’re right…” he strained to say, his troubles increasing two fold.

Had Robin been worried he would have been furious about her keeping the child from him for so long to the point she had become scared to tell him of her pregnancy? It did kind of make sense. He would have been furious to know she went through a war while pregnant with his child, risking its life like it meant little to her, but even then he would not have been half as furious as he is now. He would have been able to see his child grow in her womb and seen its birth at least. Now he worried that Robin or the child were even alive. 

“I’ll listen to your troubles,” she said then, crossing her arms under her chest as she prepared to listen to what the issue was. “If you speak about them, your anger will not be as strong as now and may give whoever it is more courage and an opportunity to speak with you.”

Frederick nodded slowly and ran a hand over his face. Robin would definitely find it hard to speak with him if she were to return to find him seething at her. He just needed to word his problems in a way that her name is never mentioned. 

“Theoretically speaking, how would you feel if you found out someone kept your child a secret?” he said at last as he stared at Panne carefully. 

“…Ah, I see,” Panne mumbled, though she looked a little surprised, she didn’t ask any further. She, thankfully, wasn’t one to pry into personal matters. “It would be cause for anger, but you have to think about why they would have done so in the first place. Were they frightened of something? Of you? Or about how the news would have affected the both of you? Then you may ask yourself if they deserve your anger, or your mercy for one mistake. If it’s their first offense, though a big one, I would consider mercy. They must have thought something warranted such a reaction.”

Frederick was struck on the spot. Something that would have troubled Robin? What may that have been? Surely she’d know he would not have abandoned the child, but she would know he would be angry with her for a while about it. Even then he doubted that was the biggest problem that Robin was worried about, even though now it was a rather big one. But before today, back when she was still here, what would have troubled her so? 

If he were Robin, what would concern him about carrying his child? It was then that he was struck with a sudden realization. Robin was a rather selfless person and hated putting anyone in any trouble for her sake or because of her. She would have dragged her name through the dirt to keep someone’s honor intact if it came to it. What would be the worth of an amnesiac over a knight? In her eyes probably not a lot. She also knew that if she were to tell him of her pregnancy, he would have stuck by her and helped her through it all whether he loved her or not. On top of that, a child conceived out of wedlock would be quite scandalous in and of itself. Him being a prestigious knight such news would probably ruin his image with the people, and that would be something Robin would not be able to live with. Her actions may be the most selfish ones to be made, but she had done it in an attempt to protect him which eased his anger slightly. If only she knew how little he cared about any of that…

“She’s so stupid…” Frederick whispered to himself as he ran a hand through his hair in disbelief. He hoped he was wrong about his conclusions, but if he wasn’t and Robin was alive, she’d receive the lecture of a lifetime…

“I hope you’ve figured out what to do from now on,” Panne spoke up then, pulling him out of his thoughts. “Though I do not blame you for your anger, it is wise to not let it control you. Your behavior affects everyone.”

“Yes, I thank you, Panne,” Frederick breathed out as he nodded firmly. “While my anger still lingers, I may now have a better understanding as to why this may have happened.”

She smiled then and relaxed her posture. “You seem to be in better spirits; much more rational now.”

“Indeed,” he smiled then, an exhausted smile, but it was a smile nonetheless. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I wish to apologize to everyone for my behavior as of late.”

Panne nodded and turned to walk to wherever she may have been going previously before she had stopped to help sort out his troubled thoughts. Frederick turned the other way to look for the first person he had mistreated during his bouts of rage: Chrom. He was honestly and gratefully surprised Chrom still kept him as his lieutenant after his inexcusable outburst the day he found out about this whole issue. Such a response from him would have warranted he be kicked out of the castle and sent home. 

He reached the throne room rather quickly and knocked on the door out of pure courtesy. While he doubted his lord would be doing anything suspicious behind these doors, one could never be too careful. Frederick was slightly ashamed of himself for thinking that his lord may be up to no good one day, but he was still young and such things were not out of the realm of possibility. He hoped his lord had enough good sense to not do anything rash in such a public place. 

His knock was answered with a muffled ‘come in’ which eased Frederick’s ever running imagination. He stepped into the throne room then, glancing over to his lord once he had made sure the door was closed behind him. When he did, all the air in his lungs left him. 

Not because his lord was doing exactly what he feared he may be doing, but rather Gaius was there with a smug look on his features while his lord looked either anxious or excited about something. 

“Oh good! I was just about to send someone for you, old friend,” Chrom stated eagerly as he motioned for Frederick to come over to look at a map he and Gaius stood around. 

Frederick’s attention lingered on Gaius for a moment, as if in disbelief. “Did you…?”

“Find Bubbles? Alive and well and chatty with the people she’s with,” Gaius answered smugly, twirling a sucker in his fingers before he promptly placed it back into his mouth. “We still have a deal, right?”

While he had no idea what Bubbles was, he was positive it was Robin. Gaius was known to give… questionable nicknames to just about everyone within the Shepherds. He quickly moved to the group of two and glanced at the map they were studying. 

“So Gaius discovered Robin has been hunkered down in a village down here,” Chrom pointed at a spot in the map that had no landmarks to suggest there even was a village to begin with. “Apparently there are small, undeveloped villages down in this area that we have not been able to catalogue which is another pressing concern we need to address…” he muttered, looking quite troubled of the fact. Frederick didn’t blame him. As Exalt, it was his responsibility to care for his people and to find out that there were villages he had no idea existed that were struggling brought him worry.

“Bubbles had apparently shown up in that village and had helped it prosper in the last year and a half,” Gaius explained, shrugging slightly. “It would have been only a matter of time before you guys would have received news of its existence.”

“I’m surprised not even Emmeryn found these villages…” Chrom stated next, thinking about his next plan of action. While Emmeryn had discovered other villages during her reign as Exalt and helped them after their father had blatantly abandoned them, there were so many that it seemed it was hardly a surprise to miss a couple of them. 

“They are near the border with Plegia,” Frederick reasoned with Chrom. “It would have been unwise for her Excellency to venture anywhere near there during the times of tension. Do not blame yourself, milord.”

Chrom nodded slowly, but then he smiled and looked up at Frederick. “Well looks like we have an even bigger reason to finding Robin now that will be reasonable with the people of Ylisstol: we have citizens to help.”

Frederick smiled and nodded slightly. Now they had a legitimate reason to leave the capitol to search for Robin which would require less questions and protests from council members and citizens alike. 

“I’ve already sent word to the council,” Chrom added, stopping Frederick short in his plans. “I’m not too patient about waiting on a reply…. I hope you’re set to leave today, Frederick.”

“Today, milord?”

“Today. We’re going to find Robin and help our fellow citizens by the border simultaneously,” Chrom assured him.

Frederick’s heart felt like it could explode by how hard it beat against his chest. They found her and they were going to find her today. He would get his answers in the next coming days. Judging by the distance, it would take them a week or a week and a half on horseback to reach the village… Frederick strived to do it in under a week. He quickly left to prepare along with Chrom, but not without promising Gaius he would be getting his supply of candy in the coming month which made the redhead almost cry with joy. 

\----

Surprisingly they made it to the village in a week, even after going through all the other villages that were located in the area and offering apologies. Chrom was appalled that these people were living in such poor conditions and had promised to send supplies and money down to each and every one of the villages in the area. The people were skeptical, almost hateful when they would appear in the villages, but after Chrom spoke to them and explained why they were left in such disarray and that he would be doing everything in his power to fix things, they seemed to love him. Each village offered whatever bit of money or goods they had left as thanks to the Exalt, but he refused them all and told them to keep them since they needed it more than him.

While it may have been painfully slow for Frederick, they did get all the villages in record time and were now heading to the one Robin was said to be in. He was nervous and anxious, his fury forgotten for the time being. Would he see his child alive and well, or would it be dead and all they will find is Robin pretending that everything is fine? He would be glad to see her alive, do not get him wrong, but he didn’t know what he would do if he found out their child had died and Robin pretended like it never existed to begin with. 

“We’re almost there, I think,” Chrom spoke up then from the back of his own horse, glancing over at Frederick with a small grin. “How are you feeling?”

“Well enough, milord,” Frederick replied, fully armored as if ready for war, but it was because he was the only guard following Chrom at the moment. They wanted to keep the information about Robin’s life between them for now. It would not be wise to bring all the Shepherds in and have them all suddenly appear before Robin and ask a dozen questions. That would probably cause her to shut down. 

“You're sure? You looked a little strained,” he pressed on, finding it hard to ignore the slight grimace on Frederick’s features. 

“Just a little anxious is all, do not fret,” Frederick admitted with a small chuckle.

“Ah, I don’t blame you. I’d be a ball of nerves if I were in your shoes.”

“Do you think she’d have my child? That it is alive and well?”

“No doubt about it. The only reason as to why it would not be is if either Robin had a miscarriage or the child had fallen terribly ill and died. But the second possibility is less than likely. I know Robin well enough to where she would have done anything in her power to keep it alive,” Chrom explained, smiling to himself now. “In fact, I’d be willing to put on a wager that she feels awful for what she had done. She may have acted on pure hormones. Sumia herself has been behaving oddly every once in a while, so I wouldn’t put it beside her.” 

“I hope you’re right, milord,” Frederick sighed out, worried that Robin did everything out of spite instead. 

It was then that the village came into view. Gaius was definitely right about the village prospering. Compared to all the villages they had just visited in the past week, this one seemed to be rebuilding itself and was a bustle of villagers fixing up damaged homes and property from what they could see from the road. It also didn’t have the strong scent of rotting vegetables and dung that the previous villages had. While the scent was still there, it just wasn’t as evident. 

They came to a stop outside of the entrance and dismounted. A few villagers paused in their work to look at whoever it was that came to visit the place. Some of them were drawn to Frederick’s and his horse’s armor, others were drawn by Chrom’s cleanliness and bright white cape. Their attention soon turned more to Chrom than Frederick as he appeared to be the least intimidating one as he greeted, and waved at them as they walked into the village. They were quick to notice that the crops were in large supply here and could prove valuable to the city.

“What a cozy little place,” Chrom muttered with a small smile as he watched a few young kids playing while the adults worked. 

“Indeed,” Frederick agreed, taking in all the sights, and smells of the place. The advancement of this village was a clear sign that someone had definitely helped them out for the better; someone with vast knowledge of these things. 

“We should find the village head and explain our services and inquire about Robin,” Chrom suggested, glancing over at Frederick to see if he would agree. 

“A just plan, milord,” he agreed with a small nod.

_Clang!_

Both Frederick and Chrom froze on the spot when the very clear and distinct sound of something, or more like someone, hitting Frederick’s armor. Both of them immediately glanced down to the source of the sound and found a small child, no more than a year old, sitting down in front of Frederick’s left foot with tears in his eyes and a quivering lip. 

He had run into Frederick’s leg and promptly slammed his little forehead against the armor that protected them. 

“Oh gods,” Chrom was first to speak as he tried to reach for the child to try and keep it calm, but before he could the child burst out wailing, making them both flinch. Such a powerful voice for someone so tiny!

Everyone in the village seemed to stop whatever they were doing to look at Chrom and Frederick struggling to react to the situation. They were both clueless when it came to kids, even though Chrom was going to be a father soon and Frederick was or wasn’t one already. Should they pick him up and try to comfort him or would that set off the villagers or the mother? They were, after all, strangers. 

It was then that they heard someone curse under their breath and run to the sound of the child crying. Before long, the mother was there and promptly scooped the child up into her arms and shushed him gently, rubbing the bright red spot on his little forehead. 

“Shh… it’s okay, Morgan, you’re okay,” she whispered softly, bouncing him in her arms to distract him from the pain. “I hope you can forgive me,” she began quickly, now addressing Frederick and Chrom. “I only took my eyes off of him for a second and he waddled off and-!” she froze mid sentence as her attention finally went to the two males before her. 

There were two things Chrom and Frederick could not get over about the mother: her pale blonde, almost white, locks of hair and the hazel eyes they knew so well. They were pretty much stunned and frozen in place, and from her reaction a moment ago, so was she. 

Standing before them, with a child that looked almost identical to Frederick, was Robin.


	12. Papa's boy

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Mmmm ya'll been blessed by spring break and also me having to drop one of my classes from the pure disaster i'm having of a semester ;D hopefully i'm less stressed out now and do better in my chemistry tests lmao 
> 
> anywhoooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo enjoy XD Chrom might be a bit OOC idk

Robin didn’t know why or what prompted her to, but she suddenly screamed, crying Morgan in her arms and all. This only caused Morgan to start crying harder, startling Chrom and Frederick as well, getting the full attention of all the villagers, and Tharja barreling over in alarm. 

“What is going on?!” Tharja asked in alarm, pausing once she was next to Robin and managed to get a good look at the situation. The situation being Chrom and Frederick. “Oh.”

“Er… hi?” Chrom was first to break the silence that came after the mess, Morgan still crying in Robin’s frozen arms. 

“…S-sorry, I just…” Robin struggled to say, a deep blush appearing on her features. “Wasn’t…expecting you guys…yet…” 

“Yet?” Frederick pressed, him being the least amused in the group by the whole situation. 

“U-um… See…” Robin tried, but then she realized that there were a lot of eyes on them and her blushed deepened further. “W-why don’t we go to Tharja and I’s place and talk?”

“That would be appreciated,” Chrom said as he became more uncomfortable by the minute. Either by Frederick’s tense aurora or the stares, Robin couldn’t tell. 

“Right this way,” Robin said quickly with a small nervous laugh as she turned and headed quickly to the house she had been calling home for the past year and a half. 

She gave Tharja a quick glance as they led the two males to the house. Damn mage jinxed her. She never would have thought this would actually happen. All this time she had been planning about leaving and going back to Ylisstol to come clean and ask for forgiveness, instead she had been found by the two people she wasn’t ready to confront yet. Chrom wasn’t her biggest problem, but she needed to apologize to him for her sudden disappearance. She had no doubts that he would forgive her easily, but it was still very hard knowing she had done something like that to someone who trusted her as much as him. And Frederick? Well she was royally screwed with him in general. The thought of telling him everything in front of Chrom and Tharja was slightly daunting.

Morgan had finally calmed down and stared Chrom and Frederick down intensely. Chrom still couldn’t get over how similar the child was to Frederick and had begun to wonder if Frederick could see it too. It was safe to say that this was Frederick’s son and by the gods he was the most adorable being Chrom had ever laid his eyes on. Would his child look as cute as that, or would it be cuter? He didn’t think he could handle something so small, cute, and fragile. Was Frederick having the same thoughts, or was he too busy being engulfed by his disappointment with Robin?

Once they had made it into the house, Robin led them to the livingroom and motioned for them to settle down wherever they wanted. Chrom had to practically order Frederick to settle down; the man was too tense to even want to sit down. 

“You guys must be tired,” Robin began nervously as she tried her best to tidy up the place with a baby in her arms. “It’s quite the trip to get here…” 

“It was quite a long trip, but nothing nearly as arduous as the war,” Chrom responded pleasantly, smiling up at Robin. “How have you been? It’s been quite a while since I’ve last heard of you.”

Robin strained a smile and settled down in a chair across the two males with Morgan on her lap, trying to get him to settle down to sleep. Tharja simply hovered nearby, watching Frederick intensely. If he tried anything, she’d kill him on the spot… Or incapacitate him at least. 

“Well… Where to even start?” Robin laughed lightly to which Chrom also laughed along with. This couldn’t be any more awkward. “Things have been rather well… A little lonesome dare I say, but otherwise we’ve been well here. I was just thinking of heading back to Ylisstol to talk to everyone again.” 

“Is that so?” Chrom smiled lightly. “You had us all worried. Everyone assumed the worst…”

“I hope you can forgive me for that,” Robin sighed out, looking troubled. “I had no intentions of leaving everyone in the dark, it’s just… There’s barely any resources here and as such I had no ink or paper with me. I would have written letters otherwise.”

Chrom glanced over at Frederick, wondering if the man would speak at all or just stare at Robin longer. He could tell his gaze was making her a little uncomfortable, but he had no right to step in. This was a serious matter that needed to be resolved and he would have to ease them into the very difficult conversation if he had to. Perhaps he and Tharja should step out whenever they have their discussion.

“How about you, Chrom?” Robin inquired with a smile. “What’s happening with you?”

“Everything’s been well. Though being Exalt is quite boring, but also stressful. You would not believe how many skirmishes the townspeople get into,” Chrom sighed out with a small laugh. “The last case I had to deal with was about eggs…” 

“I’ve had the pleasure of witnessing a few of those skirmishes here in the village as well,” Robin grinned slightly, knowing how ridiculous they could get. “Is everyone well?”

“Hm? Yeah they’ve been well. Sumia’s pregnant- Oh right, that’s something I should have said first,” Chrom said quickly upon realization. “I’m going to be a father soon.”

“Really?!” Robin gasped, a mix of surprise and happiness on her features. “This is huge news, Chrom! Congratulations! Is she faring well with the pregnancy?” Having been through hell with hers, she could only hope Sumia was well.

“She’s pushing through it despite the difficulties,” Chrom admitted with a small smile. “I think she’s amazing for dealing with all of it. I never thought pregnancies were so difficult.”

“You have no idea,” Robin laughed lightly, glancing down at Morgan for the briefest of moments to check if the child was still awake. To her dismay, he was. 

“So…” Chrom began after he figured that Frederick wasn’t going to speak any time soon. “Who’s the little guy?”

Robin seemed to visibly tense momentarily, before she relaxed and smiled lightly. She squeezed the child’s chubby hands and her smile turned to a grin when he reacted with a happy giggle and tried to nibble on her hands. He mumbled something incoherent that had one or two words Chrom and Frederick could have sworn they could actually understand, but it was hard to tell. 

“This is Morgan,” Robin said as she tickled him, prompting a happy squeal from the child. She then glanced up at Chrom and Frederick, a softer, slightly sadder smile on her features. “He’s my son…” 

She then focused her attention on Frederick, read his expression and quickly caught on that they knew she had hid the pregnancy from them. It had to have been Libra then… She didn’t blame him at this point. Frederick narrowed his eyes at her, as if prompting her to continue with the statement. It was now or never, she supposed.

“…And yours, Frederick,” Robin breathed out, her heart seeming to stop in that instance and heat rising throughout her body from her anxiety spiking up. “He’s our son,” she added, quickly glancing down at the floor, a pained expression on her features. 

She waited on an outburst from the man before her. Had Morgan not been in her arms, she would have not had the courage to admit it so strongly. She needed to get this over and done with for his sake. This was his child and he deserved to spend every minute with him if he wanted to. If he would take Morgan from her because he saw her as unfit to raise him, so be it. She deserved the pain after what she had done to him. 

“Excuse me,” Chrom said quickly and stood up. He walked over to Tharja and smiled at her. “Mind if we go outside a bit? I’ve wondered how you’ve been, being a former Plegian and all,” he began as he moved for the door. 

Tharja glanced at him, before she turned her gaze back to Robin who sat frozen on the spot, then at Frederick. “If you need me, Robin, just call,” she said as she followed Chrom out of the house and stood with him outside. She didn’t mind the Exalt all that much, he was an interesting man. She could handle being a few minutes with him. 

Robin took a deep breath once Chrom and Tharja left and dared a glance at Frederick who stared at her with his usual steely gaze, but it was slightly cracked. He was hurt and it was showing. The look in his eyes as his gaze slowly moved down to the child in her arms only seemed to make it worse. 

“I am so sorry, Frederick… I don’t expect you to forgive me for what I’ve done, but know that I want you to be with your son… I know I took the most important days of his life from you… I was going to bring him to you and apologize myself,” Robin began, her voice slightly strained. 

“Why?” Frederick managed to struggle out, looking away from Robin and his son, finding it hard to stare at them further. “Why would you do this?”

He seemed so broken when he spoke to her, as if he didn’t want to believe any of this had actually happened. 

“I… I know, I’m sorry,” Robin began, tears welling up in her eyes. “I wanted to tell you, Frederick… I really did. And I tried… But gods I don’t know what was wrong with me back then that I panicked and didn’t tell you. I realize how unreasonable I was now, and how this isn’t fair for you and Morgan… If not for me, Frederick, do it for your son…”

“What were you even thinking those days, Robin? Did you think I would have been angry with you?”

“No-“

“Did you believe I would have demanded you get rid of the child?”

“Of course not, Fred-“

“Then why, Robin?” Frederick whispered so fiercely that had Morgan not been in the room, he would have probably yelled. 

“Because I was scared, Frederick,” Robin admitted pathetically, struggling to hold back her sobs. “Scared of what would have happened to you; how this could have ruined your whole career! Gods forbid you lose all that you’ve worked so hard for all for one little incident with an amnesiac tactician you’ve only known for a few months! The gods can damn my life all they want, but to you? For me? I’d rather die than let that happen! All I wanted to do was protect you, but I… all I did was hurt you, didn’t I?”

Frederick sighed deeply when he heard what he feared would be the cause to her absence. While he felt grateful that she had thought about all the sacrifices he had made through his life to get to where he’s at, it still wasn’t right. He would have dealt with whatever arose from this the same way he had to get to his current position. Nothing could have phased him any more than what Robin had done. 

“I know it’s ridiculous and selfish, but at the time, I thought it was a just concern… and I’m terribly sorry for what I’ve done. Truly,” Robin whimpered out, reaching up to wipe some tears from her face so they wouldn’t fall on Morgan. The poor child looked confused as to why his mother was crying while talking to this stranger. 

“… I would not have cared about what would have happened to me and my career, Robin,” Frederick responded at last, watching as Morgan still tried to figure out what was wrong with his mother. “Dare I say things will be a lot worse now than it would have been in the beginning…”

“I know… The blame’s fully on me.”

“That’s not quite right, Robin,” Frederick sighed out again, running a hand through his hair. “We’re both at fault in this.”

“I’m the one who ran away and didn’t tell you I was with child,” Robin protested, narrowing her eyes a bit. “It’s all mine.”

Frederick stared at her for the longest time. He wanted to tell her he loved her, but right now he was so disappointed with her, almost disgusted of what she’d done. He was angry at her; wanted to yell and swear at her, but he couldn’t muster the energy to. He was hurt. But even hurt and angry, he still held love for the woman who did this to him, whom he so badly wanted to hate, but couldn’t. How badly he wanted to pick up his son and let him know that he was his father, but he couldn’t bring himself to. He felt broken; just a stranger staring at a child that looked like him, but didn’t know him. If she had truly loved him like he sometimes thought she did, would she have done this to him? He knew for certain he wouldn’t have…

“I’m sorry, Frederick…”

He felt like he was suffocating. He wanted to yell at her, but again he didn’t have the strength to. Wanted to cry, but he felt no tears in his eyes. He was numb. How strongly he wanted to believe this may have all been a ruse and she had never been pregnant in the first place and it had all been a false alarm, but for some reason this hurt more than he expected it to. His son and Robin were both alive and had been happily living in this village all by themselves without a thought of him, and that hurt him.

“I need some time alone,” Frederick managed to say as he stood up abruptly. 

Robin stood up a little slower, staring up at him nervously. Was he angry? Why wasn’t he yelling at her? His calmness made her uneasy. She almost wanted him to yell and curse her name; the gods knew she damn well deserved it, but he wasn’t. He just looked more hurt by the minute. 

“Frederick…?” she managed to say, watching as he passed by her; his posture stiff yet broken. 

How badly she wanted to comfort him, but she knew she did this to him. She was the last person he needed comfort from. She knew that things wouldn’t have been easy and a simple sorry wouldn’t have helped much. She had done too much damage to someone who didn’t deserve it. Still she reached for him, her hand moving to grab a hold of his arm, trying to turn him back to her so they could talk further.

But he pulled away and refused to look at her. 

She watched as he walked out of the small house and paused for the briefest of moments to speak with Chrom, before he continued walking until she could no longer see him. It took all her power to move back to the chair she had been in and sit down once more with Morgan still clutched tightly in her arms. 

Would he ever forgive her? Was this all that she could have done? Would he even want to be in Morgan’s life? Was it better to come up with a lie instead of the truth? Would it have hurt him less? Would he even return?

She almost jumped when she felt a large, warm hand rest on her shoulder. She glanced up and saw Chrom smiling down sadly at her. He reached out to her face and lightly rubbed tears that streamed down her face unbeknownst to her. When had she started crying again?

“Give him some time, Robin,” Chrom said quietly as his hand returned to her shoulder and gave it a gentle squeeze. “He’s hurt and upset. He needs to clear his head and think about things, alright? I doubt this was how he expected to find out he had a son after all…”

“…It’s all my fault…” Robin managed to whisper, her face contorting in pain from how awful she felt over it all. “… I should have told him…”

“…Yeah, but there’s no point in living in the past,” Chrom said as he sat down in the seat in front of hers. “You can only work on the now. It’s what you say and do now that will count. He just needs some time to calm down. I highly doubt he’d disown Morgan; he’s not that kind of man.”

Robin could only nod to his statement. She knew he wouldn’t do something like that, but despite what she had said, she wanted to be forgiven too. It was a selfish desire she had that she didn’t deserve. What man would forgive her for something this awful? Despite that, she really wanted it. 

Tharja had quietly walked in then and moved to Robin’s side to make sure she was alright, but Robin could barely look at anyone in the eye. Her plans had been crushed. She had wanted to go to Ylisstol and have this conversation there, but she had been found and forced to admit everything on the spot. The only thing that made her feel slightly better was that she finally told Frederick everything.

“This may not be the right time, but…” Chrom began, trying to change the tense atmosphere in the room. “May I hold him? Morgan that is…” Seeing Morgan slightly whining and squirming against her arms urged him to relieve some of the stress on Robin. 

Robin managed to make eye contact with Chrom for a few minutes, before she smiled a little. It was a broken smile, but a smile nonetheless. One step in the right direction; having one comrade in a miserable state was hard enough, having two was unbearable. 

“Y…You said you were going to be a father soon, right?” Robin asked as she cleared her throat and glanced down at Morgan. She then stood up and moved over to him, holding Morgan out towards him. “I suppose this could be good practice…”

Chrom chuckled nervously and reached up for the chubby toddler in her arms. He quickly placed the child on his lap, worried he might drop him otherwise. He stared at Morgan as said child stared back at him before he broke into a grin. 

“He’s pretty cute,” Chrom said with a small chuckle as he let Morgan play with his cape. “Always thought that if Frederick had a kid, it would look as intimidating as him.”

Robin rolled her eyes slightly at his comment and felt herself begin to calm down ever so slightly. “Very funny, Chrom…”

“He’s got your eyes though,” Chrom said next which caught her by surprise. 

“What do you mean…?”

“He’s got the same look you get whenever you’re trying to understand something or someone,” he explained, pinching Morgan’s nose lightly which earned a squeal. “Very observant is what I’m trying to say…”

“A future tactician in the works,” Robin joked with a small, yet broken chuckle. “He even knows how to escape his crib…”

“Seriously?” 

“You have no idea,” Tharja answered instead, sounding tired. “It’s a troublesome habit…”

A few minutes went by of Chrom playing with Morgan and Robin keeping a careful eye on the interactions, before Chrom remembered what he had come here for. The child was too distracting for their own good; maybe he was partly to blame for Robin not going to Ylisstol sooner. He forgot everything he was going to do the minute he looked him in the eye!

“Oh… I was going to offer Ylisstol’s support to the chieftain of the village…” He said with a slight sheepish smile as he stood up and handed a now sleepy Morgan over to Robin. “I should go do that now.”

“Oh? What do you mean?” Robin inquired curiously as she tried to get Morgan to fall asleep in her arms. 

“We came out here to offer support to the border villages. We don’t have them marked on maps so we had no idea they existed, you see,” he explained with a small sigh, running a hand through his hair. “We want to help them rebuild and expand trade to them… Though it seems you’ve been taking care of this village pretty well, but having established trade routes would benefit them even more, I’d say.”

“That’s rather generous of you, Chrom,” Robin commented holding a now passed out Morgan. Gods bless it. “I could take you to the chieftain… I wanted to talk to her myself for a while now actually. It would knock two birds with one stone, wouldn’t you say?”

“Not a bad idea,” Chrom agreed. 

“Follow me, then. I’ll take you to her,” Robin urged as she got up, stepped out of the house and led him towards the chieftain’s place. 

Robin tried to see if she could get a glimpse of Frederick around the village, but he was nowhere in sight. She deducted that he may be tending to the horses she had seen earlier that they no doubt had ridden in. She couldn’t help the small sigh that escaped her. She knew this was going to be hard, but she underestimated how awful it would feel…

Chrom could offer little support in the matter between the two. He hated seeing his two friends being at odds with each other, but this needed to be settled once and for all. He just needed to make sure both of them are level-headed during each interaction. He doubted they would resort to fists, but one could never be too careful. 

It was then that they came across an older woman who stared at Chrom intently, before her gaze turned to Robin. Robin greeted her in return and turned to face Chrom for a moment. 

“Ma’am, this is Chrom, our Exalt,” Robin introduced him quickly, smiling a little awkwardly, as if some big secret was about to be revealed. “Chrom, this is Rose, the leader of his quaint village.”

“The Exalt?!” Rose, the village head, gasped loudly, turning to Robin with wide eyes. Just who exactly was this woman? Her attention turned to Chrom and she bowed quickly. “Pardon my rudeness, Sire!”

“It’s quite alright, milady,” Chrom laughed lightly, holding a hand to stop her from rambling on. “I’m not much for formalities so rest easy.”

“What brings you here, milord?” Rose inquired, completely ignoring what Chrom had stated seconds prior about formalities. 

“One of my scouts had discovered undocumented villages by the border and brought it to my attention. I refuse to follow in my father’s footsteps and wish to help everyone in Ylisse. Having said that, once I found out about these villages, I rushed to provide aid and establish trade routes. Ylisse will not be prosperous without her people,” Chrom explained, smiling at the old woman. “I was also in search of my friend, whom I have found safe thanks to your people. So thank you for taking care of her.”

The old lady listened to what Chrom was offering and nodded slowly. “Your friend is Robin, correct?”

“Indeed, milady,” Chrom agreed readily, glancing over at Robin who was busy fending off some of Morgan’s unruly hair tufts. “She is our tactician and the one who led us to victory in the most recent war.” 

Robin let out a small protest at his statement, but she was ignored. He made it sound like she were a hero, when she was anything but.

“A tactician?” Rose repeated as she eyed Robin carefully. “It makes sense how knowledgeable you are now…”

“Forgive me for not saying it sooner. I worried what may have come to you and your people had someone known who I really was,” Robin apologized quickly, relief washing through her as all the secrets she’d been holding on to were slowly spilling out. “Tharja also happens to be one of Ylisse’s mages and she refused to leave me alone in my ventures…”

“You were with child as well,” Rose added, smiling brightly at Robin. “I would not have wanted harm to befall your child either. Am I correct to assume that you’ve come to me to ask for leave of here?”

“Yes, ma’am,” Robin sighed out, shifting Morgan in her arms as her arm grew tired from holding him up. “It’s about time I go back to my comrades and friends… I owe everyone an apology for my absence.”

Rose nodded, not seeming to be phased much by the news. It’s as if she expected that Robin and Tharja would leave some day. With that settled, she and Chrom began talking about negotiations. They established what the village needed and what they had to offer to Ylisstol, and discussed possible trade routes they could set up as well as transportation methods. Robin was quite impressed at how well Chrom learned to manage negotiations during her time away. She remembered how reckless he was at times when it came to decisions, but now he was more careful and thought about how certain things may benefit some while they could also hurt others. 

An hour had passed when Chrom and Rose had settled on an agreement. She thanked him relentlessly for all the help he was going to provide for her people, while he struggled to tell her that there was no need to thank him. They then parted and Chrom followed Robin back to her place quietly as Morgan was still sleeping; although the child had begun to stir. 

“Will you guys be staying here for a while?” Robin asked, noticing that it was getting late and how Chrom and Frederick had probably been on the road for more than a week. 

“I suppose that would be wise. We need plenty of rest before we make our way back to Ylisstol. Gods forbid a group of bandits attacks us on our way back and we’re too tired to react accordingly,” Chrom reasoned with a sheepish grin. 

“That would be disastrous,” Robin laughed along. “It could be worse… You could be held for ransom or something of the sort.”

“Will you be heading back with us?” Chrom inquired then, glancing over at Robin for a moment, but his attention went to Morgan who was fighting to squeeze her nose now that he was awake. He couldn’t help but chuckle as Robin tried to keep her face away from his tiny clutches. 

“Would be wise… There’s more protection for Morgan and...well… I haven’t been actively training in a while so the gods know how I’ll fend off trouble…” Robin admitted, grinning sheepishly. 

Chrom chuckled and shook his head. “Better stick with us then…” 

“Anyway you two can stay with us. We’ve got plenty of room,” Robin offered, smiling at him. “I’m sure Tharja isn’t against being in the same room as me if need be.”

“Mama!” Morgan interrupted, his tiny hands still reaching for her face. He had effectively gotten her attention and she made the mistake of turning her head towards him. His little hands latched on to both her cheeks and he leaned in to give her a very sloppy, and slobbery kiss on her nose. “Mah!”

“Seems he won,” Chrom teased as he watched Robin’s face turn to slight disgust before she wiped her nose and tickled the child. “Does he know more words?”

“Just a handful, really… Those that get my attention that is,” Robin giggled as she stared at her son who looked proud as ever for landing a sneaky kiss. “I need to set up your rooms, but he’s wide awake now…” 

“I could take care of him while you set up the rooms,” Chrom offered, grinning softly. 

“His charm’s rubbing off on you I see,” Robin teased with a slight laugh. She scooped Morgan off of her and held him out to Chrom who scooped him up effortlessly. Robin let out a soft groan of relief when the weight was lifted off of her. 

“Go do whatever you must,” Chrom urged Robin, motioning for her to run before Morgan begs to be back in her arms. She could only laugh and smacked his shoulder lightly before she went to her home. 

\----

Chrom had been outside with Morgan for what felt like twenty minutes when Frederick made his way over. He had been teaching Morgan how to balance himself on his little wobbly feet and had a good laugh with the boy whenever his feet failed him and promptly fell on his rump. But Chrom quickly learned that Morgan was not a quitter as he simply struggled to his feet and tried time and time again.

“Milord,” Frederick greeted softly, standing a few feet from the two. He had observed how Morgan’s eyes lit up whenever Chrom would cheer him on and could not help but think that Chrom would be an amazing father to his own child. 

“Oh, Frederick!” Chrom exclaimed, almost jumping out of his skin as he had not noticed the lieutenant approaching. “How are you feeling??”

“Slightly better,” Frederick replied honestly as he watched Morgan cling on to Chrom and stare up at him. “This…feeling will go away with time, I’m sure.”

“Right, I don’t blame you,” Chrom sighed softly, glancing down at Morgan and smiling. “She’s raised him well. He’s very stubborn in a good way… Just like his father,” he joked lightly, laughing when Frederick sent a halfhearted glare at him. 

“I’m not stubborn,” Frederick protested. 

“Fine, adamant.”

“That’s the same thing, milord.”

Chrom continued to chuckle as he crouched down and held Morgan up in front of him. He motioned for Frederick to do the same to which Frederick only raised a questionable eyebrow in response. After some convincing, Frederick gave in and kneeled, a questioning look on his features. 

“I’m trying to teach him how to keep his balance,” Chrom explained, tickling Morgan on his sides for a moment before he glanced up at Frederick with a glimmer in his eye. “Kind of hard to do when I can’t get him to walk from one point to the other.”

“…So you’re saying you want him to walk towards me?” Frederick inquired, quick to catch on to his lord’s plan. “I don’t think that’s a good idea-“ 

“Nonsense! He’s your son!” Chrom hushed him quickly, “Trust me, you’ll feel better once you hold him…”

Frederick could only sigh in return. He honestly wanted some space, but he could not disobey Chrom.

“Very well, milord…”

“Alright,” Chrom then turned to Morgan and gave the child a reassuring squeeze. “Alright, Morgan, see that big metal man? That’s your father, and you’re going to walk over to him.”

Morgan glanced back at Chrom for a few minutes as if trying to understand what he was just told. He then glanced to Frederick and narrowed his eyes in thought. Frederick couldn’t help the soft snort that escaped him when he recognized one of Robin’s signature looks on the small child’s face. 

“Go on, Morgan, he won’t bite!” Chrom encouraged further. “Go to your papa!”

Morgan stared at Frederick further. 

“Go to papa,” Chrom repeated, slightly nudging him in Frederick’s direction. 

“I don’t think he’s going to-“ Frederick began, but was cut short when Morgan began to move towards him. He felt his heart beat a mile a minute as he worried about him falling flat on his face. He could barely hold himself up!

“There we go!” Chrom cheered softly, his arms outstretched in case Morgan needed immediate rescue.

Morgan struggled his hardest to make his way over to Frederick. An intense gaze had settled on the child’s features as if he were trying to understand how to walk… Or he was curious about Frederick’s armor clad body. As he neared his father, Frederick outstretched one hand at first, feeling quite awkward about it all, but the other one shot out when he saw Morgan falter for a second. That didn’t deter Morgan as he simply stood there and made sure he had his balance before trying again. It seemed as if an eternity passed when Morgan finally made it to Frederick. 

Frederick waited until Morgan was almost against his body to hold his tiny arms with his much larger hands. Morgan was instantly fascinated by the cold touch of his armor and smacked the armor lightly when Frederick held one hand open for him to inspect it. Morgan kept tapping the armor further with his tiny hands, as his eyes trailed further along until he found Frederick’s face under all the armor. He reached up clearly wanting to touch his face.

Frederick removed the armor from his hands so as to not hurt Morgan and scooped him up to stand on the spot of his thigh that his armor didn’t cover. Robin had emerged from the house then, looking like a disaster ready to apologize to Chrom, but stopped herself when she saw Frederick holding Morgan up. Having the extra height now, Morgan proceeded to reach up until his soft little hands found his rugged face.  
His eyes seemed to shimmer in awe as his hands explored all the angles of his face and Frederick felt himself growing ever more nervous. What did he want? What was so interesting about his face? Would he start crying?

“Papa!” 

His eyes widened as he stared into the innocent eyes of his son who looked so happy and eager to meet this strange man he had never seen before until now. The one he just called his papa as if he had known all along. Frederick felt his chest swell painfully with something he couldn’t quite place, but it was a good feeling. 

Morgan then glanced at Chrom slightly bouncing on Frederick’s thigh as if asking him if he had done well. Chrom snorted and chuckled softly, nodding in response to Morgan. He didn’t think he’d flat out call Frederick “papa” right off the bat like that. He had heard kids take a while to learn who’s who or even how to pronounce the word itself as “mama” seemed to be the easiest for them. Morgan turned back to Frederick, his little hands holding on to his armor as he continued to bounce on Frederick’s thigh. 

“Papa!” he exclaimed again.

Frederick nodded slowly, smiling down at the bundle of joy that was his son. He felt such pride, such love, for this child so suddenly that it was overwhelming. He wanted nothing more than to scoop him up in his arms and hold him tightly, but his armor kept him from doing so. 

“That’s right, Morgan,” Frederick strained to say, his voice slightly cracking from his urge to cry from the overwhelming feelings within him. “I’m your father… and you’re my son…”  
Morgan smiled at Frederick, but then turned his attention to the door and squealed in delight. 

“Mama!” 

It was then that Chrom and Frederick noticed Robin had been watching all along. She appeared to be about to cry, a hand over her mouth to stifle any possible sob that might escape. She shook her head when the two men noticed her presence and shook her hand in front of her. 

“S-sorry…” she managed to whimper out, one hand moving to rub at her eyes. “I just… I’ve never taught him that…”

“He caught on pretty quick,” Chrom added as he stood up and smiled at Robin. “Got everything set up?”

“Yeah… Sorry for taking so long,” Robin apologized, running a hand through her hair in an attempt to comb it after it had somehow gotten out of its tie. “I forgot we stored stuff in the extra rooms… Tharja’s making dinner right now. Want to come inside?”

“If it’s not a problem,” Chrom responded with a small chuckle as he went over to Frederick so that he could bring Morgan to Robin, but the child refused to let Frederick go. “Oh geez… What have you done to him already, Frederick?”

Robin couldn’t help the soft giggle that escaped her from Chrom’s second statement and rolled her eyes. 

“It’s fine,” she snorted, motioning for Chrom to just come inside. “You’ll bring him in, right, Frederick?” Robin addressed Frederick quietly and hesitantly, daring to look at him for a moment. 

“Yes, of course…” Frederick replied, smiling down at Morgan who refused to leave his side. 

Robin then stepped out of the doorway and walked over to Frederick and Morgan. Her heart was pounding in her chest, but she had no intentions of speaking with him yet, she just wanted to do him a favor. She reached down and scooped up the discarded pieces of armor. 

“I’ll place these in the room you’ll be staying at. Feel free to take off the rest,” Robin stated simply, turning to give Morgan a quick ruffle of the head, before moving away towards the house where Chrom happened to be waiting. Once she made it through the door, she let out the breath she had been holding. She did it and survived. Frederick did not brush her off and was addressing her when needed. Sure it was strained, but he was trying to be civil still. 

Frederick watched as Robin helped him out a little and sighed softly. He stood up then, picking Morgan up and settling him on his shoulders since it was the only place with no armor where he could keep Morgan comfortably at. He followed Chrom and Robin inside, watching as Robin took his armor to a room and motioned to him that that would be his room for now. Frederick, being the gentleman that he was, thanked her quietly and set Morgan down on the floor to play with some toys he had scattered everywhere. He wasn’t too happy to say the least.

“I’ll be right back, Morgan,” Frederick reasoned with the child, whom he received a small pout from.

With that settled he went off to the room and began to remove the layers of armor he always wore. He didn’t fail to notice how Robin had taken special care to place the discarded armor neatly and precisely on a table like he usually did whenever he didn’t have them on. Seems she observed more than just him whenever she would speak with him in his tent years ago. She made it a little hard to stay mad at her.

Once his armor was off, he stepped out of the room, and almost ran into Morgan again. The child had wandered off to the small hallway as Robin and Chrom were deep in conversation, occasionally having Tharja participate in it. He wondered if he would ever be able to speak with Robin like that again… 

“I can see you’re quite the handful,” Frederick muttered, amused by Morgan’s rather adventurous streak.

At last he reached down and properly scooped up Morgan into his arms. Whatever he had felt minutes before compared little to what he felt now. Chrom was right; he felt an immediate connection with Morgan right then and there as the child ran his small hands through his already messy hair. 

He made his way over to the livingroom where Chrom and Robin were in deep conversation about how much Robin missed speaking to someone about strategies and battles. They glanced up quickly when he entered the room, Robin being the first to look at the floor the minute their eyes made contact, and their conversation died. Frederick sighed and settled down in a chair with Morgan happily propped on his lap and playing with his bowtie. It wasn’t long before he was being choked by his own son and had to untie it. 

“Morgan usually hates being away from Robin for too long,” Tharja piped up as she waited for whatever she was making to cook itself. “Consider yourself very lucky, Frederick.”

“Really?” Frederick muttered surprised and dared a glance at Robin for a moment to see what she had to say. When she smiled awkwardly and nodded, he felt himself loving his son more than he already did. 

“So… Does this mean you met your son by him slamming into your leg guard?” Chrom blurted out suddenly, which earned a glare and a punch in the shoulder from Robin. 

Frederick found himself feeling ill rather suddenly then.


	13. First Impressions

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lol sorry guys i caught a sinus infection from the pits of hell so the chapter seems kind of jumbled XD at least to me. my mind is jumbled lmao. I did my best to fill in what I had written down before I got sick. 
> 
> I hope you guys enjoy it! x3

In the course of the next few days, Robin had been a sack of nerves. She was going to return home to all her friends/comrades after a year and a half of being away without a word. She wondered what they thought of her, if they were angry or could they care less of what she had done during her time away? What would they think of Morgan? Would they come to love him or would they be repulsed by him considering how he had been conceived? She worried endlessly for Frederick, but he assured her that he would ignore any and all comments sent his way.

Things with Frederick appeared to be smooth, but both Chrom and Robin knew better. He was cordial with Robin, but it was clear there was tension between them. He’d only speak with her if he absolutely had to, otherwise he would avoid her. They mostly spoke to each other whenever it involved Morgan or something important such as picking a safe route back home.

One of Robin’s biggest woes was that Morgan had been utterly infatuated with his father. Robin was no longer that interesting to him, and the walking chunk of metal that was his father was too tempting to resist. One of his favorite things was staring at his chubby reflection against the polished pieces of armor. It was hilarious and adorable at times and Chrom would only encourage his antics much to Frederick’s slight dismay. He had to spend more time tending to his armor considering Morgan would coat it with saliva and at times sugary finger prints from some kind of snack he had had.

They had been on the road for several days now and were relieved of the fact that they were nearing Ylisstol. Days of tension between Robin and Frederick were exhausting not only to them, but to Chrom and Tharja. Morgan seemed to be the only soul unaffected by it all. Ideally it was Frederick that should be out scouting the path ahead, but after a few attempts to, the job fell to Tharja as Morgan would scream whenever he’d watch either Robin or him go. Chrom had volunteered to scout, but Frederick sternly informed him that they were scouting for his safety above all else so he was denied the right.

Had Tharja or Chrom not been there through the trip, Robin would have lost her mind. Frederick’s curt answers to any small talk she attempted to initiate were rather painful and disheartening. She wanted to make things right between them, but Frederick wanted nothing to do with her. Or at least that was what she thought. She didn’t blame him, but she had hoped Morgan would have soften the situation between them and made the healing process go by smoother and quicker. In the back of her mind and in her heart, Robin wanted his forgiveness and his love, but she chided herself endlessly whenever she dwelled on the thoughts. She had done this and she alone deserved to suffer for it.

“So,” Chrom’s voice cut into her thoughts as he glanced back at her with a small smile. “Have you come up with those apologies you wanted to give to everyone yet?”

“Not exactly,” Robin admitted with a small sigh. “It’s been rather difficult.”

“If you managed to apologize to Frederick, you can apologize to anyone. You’ve done no harm to them. I doubt they’d be too hurt you disappeared without a word.”

“They might be when they see Morgan. They’d probably think I didn’t trust them.”

“I think they’d be too shocked to even think about that possibility. Relax, Robin, things will go well.”

“Things haven’t gone all that well with the first,” Robin muttered quietly to herself, but unfortunately for her, he heard her. How could he not? She was currently riding with him on his horse.

“Robin, technically I was the first and Frederick’s situation is different. You kept his child a secret from him; any good man would be upset with such a situation. I myself would be furious. You’ve got to give him space and time,” Chrom chided her in a way he had never before. It was stern and was almost a warning.

“Sorry,” Robin sighed softly. “I understand his situation and feelings, but I can’t help but think of the worst. What if he were to hate me forever?”

“He doesn’t hate you, Robin,” Chrom sighed, glancing at said knight who rode a few feet in front of them with Morgan. “He only ever hates his enemies. His comrades could do him wrong and he could never bring himself to hate someone close to him. Disappointment though? That he would feel. Maybe even disgust, but that’s pushing it.”

“…Do you think he’s disgusted with me then?”

“Disappointed, hurt, betrayed, or all three would be my first guess,” Chrom responded without so much of a filter. “All of which can be overcome as long as you work hard to make it up to him.”

Robin stared at the vast scenery of trees off to their side and frowned deeply. It surprised her to hear such sharp and blunt honesty from Chrom, but she knew he was right. Maybe he was secretly angry with her for hurting his friend the way that she had. She could only assume Frederick was more of a big brother or even a nanny than a friend to him, so he might be displeased to see his friend hurt in such a way.

“I’ve always felt that you were much more to Frederick than he let on,” Chrom began, smiling softly to himself. “I mean… I’ve never heard of Frederick bedding anyone during our years together until now. There’s something about you that allured him, and before you say anything, you’ve got many amazing traits that would make any man fall for you. Think about that, Robin, and not his current anger. He had never fallen to temptation before, even if a woman was bare before him. I doubt there’s any man who has as much self-control as Frederick in our army.”

“So you’re saying that if a naked woman were to tempt you, you’d fall?”

“I’d be distracted if anything- were you even listening to what I was saying?”

Before she had time to respond, she saw the faintest glimmer of light coming from the woods that could only be one thing: light bouncing off a metal projectile. Without much of a warning, Robin gripped Chrom’s shoulders and threw herself off the horse so suddenly that he was effectively thrown off with her. The horse shrieked as its reigns were pulled sharply for a brief moment before Chrom had released them to prevent the horse from also tumbling to the ground with them. Chrom’s startled cry had been drowned by the horse and Robin’s pounding heart in her ears. Not a second later, Robin saw the dagger blow over the horse’s bare back.

“Frederick-“ Robin tried to warn the knight of the impending ambush, but he was already at their side after hearing the horse with Morgan in tow.

“We’re being ambushed,” Frederick warned sharply as if to help Chrom over the situation since he had yet to receive a reason as to why Robin shoved him off of the horse.

“So I’ve gathered!” Chrom replied as he quickly stood and withdrew Falchion from its sheath at his side.

Robin glanced from Chrom to Morgan then to Frderick in a panic. What could she do to protect Morgan while helping to fend off the attack? And where was Tharja?! Had she been hurt? She could have sworn she heard panic in Frederick’s voice and once she had made eye contact with him, she saw her own fear and panic mirrored in his eyes. They were under attack and they had a small child to protect in the thick of it. Morgan had no way of escaping or getting away from danger; he was just too young still.

“Give Morgan to me,” Robin demanded sharply. “I’ll keep fair distance from the enemy and watch both your backs.”

Frederick did not hesitate to place the toddler in her arms where she secured him tightly underneath her cloak as she pulled out a thoron tome Tharja had handed to her. Frederick gave Morgan one last look before he moved behind Robin to fend off any attacks that may come out of the opposite field of trees. All three of them stood steady and still for what felt like an eternity as they waited for an attack. Morgan was much too stunned to freak out yet so that was the only relief they had.

Suddenly brigands began to emerge from the woods without warning from both sides simultaneously. Had Robin not been anxious, she would have probably laughed at their pathetic strategy, if they even had one. The first to attack was by Frederick who took care of the brigand so easily yet violently that the rest of the group paused and considered a better way to approach Frederick rather than charge in blindly. Chrom fended off several brigands on his end and was becoming overwhelmed by the sheer number of them. Robin charged a thoron and sent it straight through a brigand that tried to attack Chrom from behind. The skirmish went on this way for a while until Morgan started screeching. Their focus was interrupted for a split second and the brigands knew what their biggest weakness was. They immediately tried to push through Chrom and Frederick as they tried to get to Robin and Morgan.

They struggled to get control of the group; a few of the brigand’s attacks would land on them in their panicked states. One brigand slipped past their defenses and went straight for Robin while she was distracted getting another brigand who went for Frederick. Right as Robin saw the brigand with the axe raised to strike, she swore and ducked down to use her body as a shield for Morgan. Frederick and Chrom moved much too slowly to stop the attack. Robin felt something slam/cut into her, but the force was lifted off of her as quickly as it came down. She tumbled to the ground, still clutching on to Morgan despite the throbbing ache on her back. At least she knew she wasn’t dead.

“Robin!” Tharja’s quiet voice reached her ears as said woman crouched before her to make sure she was alive. Turns out Tharja had blasted the brigand off of her with some sort of tome.

“Where were you?!” Robin cried out with relief and slight anger. “I thought you had gotten hurt!”

“Getting much needed backup apparently,” came her reply which prompted Robin to look more clearly at her surroundings.

Before she could focus, she felt cold hands on her burning back that caused her to let out a startled cry. She glanced to the source and saw Lisa grinning down at her with a staff at the ready. The gods must be smiling down on her today.

“Lissa!” she cried out in surprise, but groaned when her wound began to mend painfully.

“We finally get to see you again and you almost get yourself killed! Sheesh, Robin, do you hate seeing us that much?” Lissa joked with a soft laugh. “Good thing we were nearby on our way to deal with these guys! They had been causing Ylisseans trouble for a few days so we were sent to intervene!”

“Sorry, Lissa,” Robin laughed along softly. “I’ve currently got my hands full at the moment…”

“So I hear…” Lissa muttered. Morgan was still screeching his little lungs off through the whole ordeal.

Once Robin could focus on her surroundings rather than the pain on her back, she noted that Lon’qu, Stahl, and Miriel were also here. They were currently helping Chrom and Frederick dispatch the few brigands that were left. With the extra backup, the brigands were apprehended or killed easily and they were able to finally relax. Robin meanwhile had another small battle to deal with: Morgan.

She sat up and tried every trick she could think of that would work on him in the past, but nothing could calm the screeching toddler. Lissa stared at Morgan for a few minutes, no doubt wondering who the toddler was. After Robin tried helplessly, Lissa reached out for the toddler.

“Let me try,” Lissa offered. Robin was desperate to quiet the toddler and made little protest as she handed Morgan off to her. The others had regrouped and were at their side, watching the interaction curiously.

Morgan was quick to quiet down once he was in Lissa’s arms. It was either from the shock of a stranger holding and talking to him, or Lissa’s childlike energy and squeals prompting him to settle down. It took little time for her to catch a giggle from the child and she looked ever victorious.

“So…” Lissa began once Morgan was quietly blabbering to himself. “Who’s this cutie?”

“Morgan,” Robin answered, giving Frederick a quick glance as if asking him if she should mention he’s his son. Before she could though, Morgan answered for her.

“Papa!” he exclaimed as he reached to Frederick. Said knight did not hesitate to move and scoop his son in his arms from Lissa.

“…Wait a minute…” Lissa muttered, her eyes narrowing at Frederick and Morgan. They sure did look similar.

“He’s Frederick and Robin’s kid,” Chrom answered simply. “Long story which she’ll retell once we get back and have everyone together.”

“Whoa what?!” Stahl exclaimed, glancing at Robin and Frederick. “When did this happen and why are we learning about this now?!”

“It’s quite the surprise, isn’t it?” Frederick muttered with such disdain it almost cut Robin in half. “I’ve but learned of his existence a few days ago myself.”

Lon’qu seemed to read the situation quickly enough and wanted no part in it. He cleared his throat awkwardly, Stahl was quick to shut up, Miriel observed the situation with interest, Lissa gasped quietly, either from the situation or Frederick’s tone, and Chrom glared at Frederick for his outburst.

“I understand your anger, Frederick, but being an ass won’t make things any better,” Chrom snapped. He was growing tired of babysitting the two.

“Forgive me, milord-“

“I will when you ask for Robin’s,” Chrom cut in skillfully.

Frederick said nothing while Robin remained quiet and expressionless. His words cut through her deeply, but she was determined not to let it show. She had to be strong in front of her friends and Morgan; she’d deal with her feelings later.

“It’s a really long story,” Robin added after the awkward silence that came of the situation. “But he _is_ Frederick’s.”

Before anyone could ask any more questions, Chrom cleared his throat to get their attention.

“As I’ve said, she’ll address any and all questions once we’re back at the castle,” he began, “I’m sure she’d like to explain herself once and not a dozen times to every Shepherd. Plus I’d like to be home as soon as I can.”

“Thinking about Sumia~?” Lissa cooed with a small laugh. “She’s been well if that’s what you’re worried about.”

As requested, they were soon on their way back. Robin’s back ached terribly, but otherwise she was fine thanks to Lissa’s quick mend. She could see how all four of their comrades had questions, but they held back out of respect for her and per Chrom’s request. Robin lingered more towards the back of the group feeling rather isolated from everyone. They spoke to each other about things Robin did not understand and therefore could not participate in. Clearly plenty had transpired while she was away. Not only were everyone too busy chatting about some economic or political situation going in the capital, she did not have Morgan with her. He had opted out to stay with his very shiny father instead of her. During her time away, it was Morgan who had kept her grounded and content, but now she didn’t have her son. Her selfish feelings had made her angry for she knew she no longer had a say in every little thing Morgan did. He had a father now and he deserved to spend as much time with Morgan as she did. Despite her reasoning, she could not help but feel that her world was crumbling apart. At least she still had Tharja who talked to her at times during the trip.

About an hour into their trek, Frederick fell back to walk beside Robin. He felt awful for his outburst; he was haunted every minute by the memory. He was quite simply ashamed of himself and needed to apologize. The battle and close call had left him rattled and unable to calm down. He almost saw his son and Robin die before his very eyes and that thought terrified him.

“Robin,” Frederick began awkwardly, slightly bouncing a passed out Morgan in his arms. “I must apologize to you for my outburst earlier- not because milord told me to… I was quite stressed from the battle and lost control of my emotions… I did almost watch the both of you die after all. I was angry I almost lost the son I only knew I had until recently… Forgive me, Robin.”

“It’s… alright, Frederick,” Robin replied albeit a bit strained. This had to be the longest conversation Frederick’s had with her willingly.

“I am truly sorry and regret what I’ve said,” he added just to make sure she knew he was being honest.

“As am I,” Robin answered simply as she glanced at Morgan who appeared a bit uncomfortable leaning against his father’s armor.

Frederick walked beside her for a while, neither of them understanding why he was in the first place. Frederick clearly detested her, at least that’s what she thought and portrayed his outburst as, yet there he was with her with Morgan in his arms. Frederick himself began to wonder why he lingered; it’s as if he wanted to say something, but he didn’t know what. He wanted to talk to her for the first time in the past few days of being together. It did not hurt as much to look and talk to her as it had before. Perhaps he was beginning to mend.

“To be quite honest, when we had set out to find you, I assumed the worst after learning about your pregnancy,” Frederick mumbled. “Thought you may have gotten rid of Morgan in an attempt to keep your old life as it were… that or both of you died.”

“I would have never considered the thought, but I suppose I did almost die,” Robin added to the conversation, thinking he just wanted to accuse her of something new. “My hips were on the small side and after hours of labor, I bled heavily. It was a surprise both of us survived the ordeal. I thought to myself that it might’ve been punishment for what I’d done; had I stayed, the medics in Ylisstol may have stopped the bleeding or made the birth easier.”

“That was much too harsh and cruel to be a punishment… The medics in Ylisstol may have not been able to do much about your hips. You could have died in Ylisstol just as well. Many women do,” Frederick huffed, narrowing his eyes at the image of Robin barely alive on a bloody bed.

“Would you have preferred that I had?” Robin’s words startled even her. That was not supposed to come out, but she was tired, in pain, and had little control of her bitterness of being left alone.

“By the gods, no!” he blurted out so fast and loud that everyone paused to glance back at them as Frederick stopped to face her. “Have you gone mad? I’d never wish that upon anyone! Morgan needs is mother; he needs you.”

“So you want me alive for Morgan’s sake.”

“You are Ylisse’s greatest tactician. You lead our army to victory and keep our people content and comfortable with the ideas you gave Chrom about the general public’s health and needs. You’re much more valuable alive to me than dead, Robin, to everyone. Do you wish to die that badly?”

Robin chose not to answer any more. One minute he refuses to acknowledge her, and the next he’s singing praises. She didn’t know what to think of Frederick at this point. It was then that she noticed the others were staring at them and she simply smiled and waved at them not to worry.

“I’ve got a war in my head that I’d like to keep to myself, Frederick,” Robin responded at last with a small sigh. “I’ll have it solved soon… Can I… May I hold Morgan the rest of the way?”

Frederick looked rather troubled at her confession, but he handed the small child down to her. She seemed to lighten up the minute she held her son in her arms and he came to the conclusion that Morgan was the only one keeping her from falling apart. He felt quite guilty that she had been struggling while he held her only solace; she should’ve just asked. Perhaps he should bring up Robin’s troubling words to Libra; knowing her by now, she would not do it herself.

They lingered alongside each other the rest of the walk back to Ylisstol. At one point Morgan had woken up and Frederick entertained his need of his attention with one of his fingers of which Morgan happily touched and nibbled on. Everyone ahead had noted how much they appeared to be a couple in that one instance, the only thing that gave them away was that they only smiled at Morgan but avoided each other.

\----

The castle appeared incredibly daunting to Robin. They had just arrived at the doors and Robin played each and every scenario in her head multiple times. She looked to Chrom who sent a reassuring smile her way. Lissa appeared impatient to learn of the whole Morgan scandal, Lon’qu clearly wanted none of it, Stahl probably wanted food, Miriel seemed interested, and Frederick was back to his usual stoic self. His words to her earlier only troubled her further. She wanted his forgiveness so badly, but she knew she did not deserve it. Hearing his words had torn her. Was he thinking of forgiving her, or was he just saying things to stay her mind for she is important to Ylisstol?

“If you try to run away, I’m going to drop a dozen frogs on you while you sleep,” Lissa threatened when she noticed Robin’s troubled look.

“Lissa-“ Robin gasped softly. She would neve- no… no she definitely would.

“You won’t come across everyone right away, Robin, so relax,” Chrom mused as he opened the doors. He ate his words right away.

There at the main hall stood all of the Shepherds. Gaius more than likely spilled the beans in exchange for more candy; which was ridiculous because Frederick had fulfilled his promise to the guy. They all looked to be anxious until their eyes landed upon white hair attached to a familiar and much loved face. Before Chrom could tell them not to, they all rushed forward to greet Robin.

“You’re alive!” Nowi cheered eagerly.

“That was a shit thing to do, Robin, but I’m damn glad you’re still alive,” Sully huffed out, but she did look concerned.

“Welcome back!” Donnel cheered.

“Where had you been?” Ricken inquired.

“I will never forgive you for hurting Lissa,” Maribelle scoffed, but clearly didn’t mean it.

“It’s good to have you back,” Cordelia sighed.

“You had us worried, Robin,” Panne admitted.

“Have you been well?” Kellam asked quietly.

“I sure hope you didn’t forget ol’ Teach’s lessons!” Vaike laughed. She had.

“Gregor is pleased that you are not hurt!” said man exclaimed happily.

But it was one person among the group that Robin focused on and was able to stay grounded amongst the mess. Sumia. Her gentle smile while she held her very large womb was such a calming presence to Robin. It reminded her of a time she too was heavily pregnant with Morgan.

“Did something happen?” she asked once she saw how troubled Robin looked. She also did not fail to see the toddler she held on to so tightly despite the child’s small protests.

“Yes,” Robin barely breathed out above a whisper before she broke down crying.

Here was everyone, welcoming her with open arms and she had run from them. Why had she done so? They deserved nothing of her betrayal. She did not want them to greet her with open arms and it destroyed her to see so. After she had abandoned them, they were willing to forgive and forget. Somewhere in the middle of her breakdown, Frederick had taken Morgan from her to keep him distracted while his mother dealt with her emotions.

“I am so sorry, everyone,” Robin sobbed out as she rubbed at her eyes violently. “I had been a coward and only thought of myself during the situation I had been in. I should have stayed and been honest from the start, not only to you guys, but also to Frederick…!”

“Robin, it’s alright, take your time,” Sumia shushed her gently when she noticed how the woman could barely speak. The group was also growing concerned.

“That’s right, Robin,” Cordelia assured and gave her shoulder a squeeze. “Take it slow.”

“No I have to say it,” Robin protested as she took a deep breath to compose herself. “I don’t trust that I’ll find the right words to say later or even say them…”

“Right so… What happened to you then?” Ricken was first to ask. “You didn’t write any letters…”

“A baby apparently,” Lissa blurted out and everyone was stunned to silence. Chrom chided her quietly about how she should let Robin explain herself.

“Wait what?!” Sully exclaimed, eyes almost popping out of her head.

“You ran off because you were pregnant?” Kellam wondered, a confused look on his features.

“Erm… yes,” Robin admitted.

“Why would you?!” Vaike exclaimed. “Nobody would have been mad about it! We’d love to take care of you and your baby!”

“He was a surprise,” Robin sighed out as she motioned to Morgan in Frederick’s arms.

“You knew about it before you ran away though, am I correct?” Miriel urged.

“Yes…”

“Tell us the juicy story from beginning to end!” Lissa exclaimed. She had waited too long to hear vague answers from Robin and she didn’t care who stood in her way of them.

Robin flushed furiously as she glanced to Frederick who nodded for her to proceed. They had a son together so there was no point in keeping the events of that night a secret. Everyone knew how children were made… at least he hoped so.

“Before I start,” Robin breathed in deeply. “Morgan, my son that is, is Frederick’s.” That earned a collective gasp from everyone and a few glances to said man who agreed readily.

“What the shit…” Sully muttered. “I did not expect this! This really is a juicy story! Lay it on me; I’m all ears!”

“Wait! Can I go grab some food real quick?” Stahl asked to which he received collective glares and a soft laugh from Robin who allowed it.

Somehow they all ended up going to the kitchens with Stahl and sat or stood wherever. Some joined Stahl and ate a light snack while giving Robin and Frederick their undivided attention. This was going to be good.

“Right well… I don’t know how it happened, but Frederick and I had… slept together one night,” Robin said despite her blush. She took comfort in the fact that Frederick looked just as uncomfortable. “Well I mean I know how, but it just happened so suddenly, you know? Anyway… things didn’t go well the next morning…”

“Why not?” Maribelle asked despite her disdain over the whole situation. They were such animals! Having intercourse before they were even married!

“Yeah what happened then?” Cordelia asked, raising an eyebrow. She was much more intrigued since she had always been huge on love and romance. “Did he hurt you?”

“I… well yes actually,” Robin muttered turning her gaze to Frederick and glaring at him for the smallest fraction of a second. “What was it that you had said? That it was because of the ‘heat of the moment’ thing and wanted to pretend it never happened?”

Frederick physically flinched at her words.

“I’ve made my peace about that already,” Frederick countered, pushing his hair back nervously. “It was an insensitive and awful thing to say and do. I still regret it immensely to this day.”

“Damn, Frederick… Had I been Robin, I’d’ve killed you,” Sully muttered. It was clear everyone shared the same sentiment in that moment.

“But as Frederick said, he’s apologized a year or so ago. I would have accepted it had I not been raging with hormones,” Robin cut in before everyone could start bashing him. “It was an honest and sincere apology and I understood what went through his head.”

“When did you learn you were pregnant?” Panne asked. She was rather curious as to why she hadn’t detected it on her back in the day.

“Two months after the incident took place.”

“You mean to tell us you fought Gangrel while you were pregnant?” Cordelia asked in shock. She must’ve done the math.

“Yeah… Not my best moment, but I did not want to leave my friends to fight alone in such a big battle… If things had gone wrong, I needed to be there to help…”

“Who did you go see to confirm the pregnancy, or were you just consciously aware that something was wrong?” Sumia inquired.

“Libra… He had made sure I was safe and comfortable. I asked him to keep it a secret while I gathered the courage to speak to Frederick… evidently I never did.”

Her speech was momentarily interrupted by Morgan exclaiming and smacking Frederick’s face between his chubby hands. Frederick only blinked and glanced down at the giggling toddler who held his face. Someone had to clear their throat to rip Robin’s attention from them. It had just been too cute to ignore.

“Oh… I um… Where was I?” Robin muttered as she remembered. “I decided I’d tell Frederick after the war so that I would be allowed to fight… Well the war ended, Frederick had yet to apologize by the way, and Libra had to urge me to talk to him about it. I went to do so but that was when Frederick apologized and I uh… snapped. I lost my head in that moment entirely. I refused his apology and refused to tell him of his child that I carried… I was so angry and disappointed in myself that my mind started making up all sorts of ridiculous scenarios in my head. That was when I decided to leave. I was too ashamed, embarrassed, and scared to bring it up to Frederick. What would he have thought? I would have had to go up to him a few days later and say ‘oh yeah last time I wanted to tell you that I was pregnant, but you pissed me off so I didn’t say it.’ That’s probably the worst way to mention something that important.”

“That would have not been the smoothest way to bring it up,” Chrom agreed, though he was slightly amused by the thought.

“I more than likely would have been baffled and furious,” Frederick admitted.

“And that’s exactly what went through my mind and with all the hormones circulating through me, my fears and insecurities only increased…” Robin sighed out. “Anyway my reasoning was ridiculous, but I could not bring myself to turn back… It was only a few months ago that I realized how long I had been gone…”

“How come you never sent word?” Donnel inquired.

“I went to live in a very poor village where we didn’t have the luxury of ink and paper. I would have written if I had the materials,” Robin assured them, smiling a little.

“So in summary, you ran away because you were pregnant with Frederick’s kid and went off to live in a village in the middle of nowhere,” Kellam stated to which Robin nodded.

“That’s about it… It’s rather dumb, isn’t it?” Robin laughed embarrassedly. “I know you guys wouldn’t have minded and would have loved to have Morgan around; not to mention Frederick would have no doubt stepped up and raised Morgan alongside me… I just don’t know what went through my mind back then…”

“Well… what matters is that you’re back safe and sound with your boy!” Ricken stated as he tried to change the conversation and lighten everyone’s mood.

“And you’ve confessed to everything and apologized,” Chrom added, grinning at his best friend. “I told you nothing bad would come of this. You’re loved and cared for here no matter what your past may have been.”

“Yeah!! We’ll help with Morgan!” Nowi squealed eagerly, she loved kids. Kids always had time to play with Nowi.

“Gregor loves kids. They’re cute and also smart! But kids hate Gregor,” Gregor laughed and everyone playfully wondered why.

Everyone fell into idle chatter then. Some went to meet Morgan and were charmed by his adorableness instantly, others caught Robin up to all the things that were going on in the city. It almost felt as if she hadn’t left at all for a year and a half because of the way everyone treated her. She felt welcomed once more and her fears had settled at last. Nobody hated her and they all were eager to help out with her son in any way they could, especially Lissa who’s been excited to be an aunt for the past several months. She claimed that she would hone her aunt skills with Morgan. Morgan made no protest on the matter: he loved Lissa. He laughed and squealed every time Lissa would spin or tickle him.

Right as the tension in the room almost completely dissipated there was a small commotion in the entrance of the kitchen. When everyone paused and turned to the door, there stood Libra, looking as if he had just run all the way to the kitchen. His eyes immediately landed on Robin and he looked completely and utterly relieved. Robin had little idea he had been in the castle and immediately went to him.

“Libra-“ she began, but he cut her off the minute his expression seemed to sour.

“I am highly disappointed in you! I left with a sound mind thinking you would speak to Sir Frederick- of all people he would have been the perfect person to speak with about the issue let me just add- only to return to find out you never said a thing and ran off without telling anyone! I thought the worst! Were I not a holy man, I would have smacked you upside the head right now,” Libra fussed relentlessly. “What has become of your child? Is it alive? Are you alright and healthy?”

“Sorry Libra- Yes he’s alive- I’m alright,” Robin tried to answer the barrage of questions sent her way as Libra began to inspect her face and what he could of her body.

“He? You had a son?” Libra inquired as he finished looking at the bags under her eyes. “You definitely need to catch up on sleep…”

“His name’s Morgan,” Robin explained as she pointed towards Morgan who was busy interacting with all the Shepherds. They were apparently trying to get him to say their names, but Morgan had yet to master words. He was getting there.

Libra glanced over her shoulder and stared at the small toddler who was butchering Vaike’s name at the moment. Frederick was keeping a close eye on his son to make sure nobody upset him in any way… He was also propped up on a table so he was probably waiting to see if Morgan lost his balance at any point. Libra made his way over to Morgan and gave him a quick inspection and was relieved to see that Morgan looked as healthy as a toddler could ever be. His high spirits was a clear indication of his current health. His eyes were so similar to Robin’s by the way they regarded him with curiosity but also looked analytical; it’s as if he were trying to figure out who Libra was and how he worked, something Robin often did whenever she met someone new or talked to her comrades in general.

“Well he’s perfectly healthy… much more than his mother I’d say,” Libra said bluntly as he glanced at Robin with a straight face. Everyone tried to hold back either gasps or snorts by the comment.

“You’re not wrong,” Robin sighed out, running a hand through her hair. “What I’d give to have a proper bath in warm water and sleep on a proper bed…”

“Oh! We were so happy to see you that we completely forgot to consider that you’re tired!” Sumia exclaimed suddenly as she moved over to Robin and took her by the arm. “Come on, let’s get you that bath and then you may sleep if you’d like! We’ll watch over Morgan, don’t worry!” she continued to say as she practically dragged Robin away from everyone; Lissa joined in after Chrom asked her to keep an eye on Sumia in case the woman were to trip. Those darn blasted shoes of hers.

“A-are you sure? I can take care of Morgan-“ Robin tried to reason, but the women were not having it. “Morgan really loves drinking a lot of water, more than milk! He also eats just about anything you put on the table!” she yelled over her shoulder to make sure Frederick could hear it. She trusted everyone, but she knew Frederick would remember everything compared to the others.

It wasn’t long before she was shoved into a bathing room with a fresh change of clothes. She was worried for Morgan, but the minute she settled down into the bath, she forgot all her troubles and relaxed. She scrubbed herself clean with the most lavish of scented soaps; just this once she would spoil herself. It’s not that she never took a bath back in the village, it’s just that they were quick and lacked any scented soaps. She was sure Morgan would have a blast the minute he sees bubbles for the first time in his own bath… Hopefully somebody bathes him… Did anyone know how to bathe a child? Suddenly her worries returned twofold.

When she emerged, she asked Sumia and Lissa if they knew how to bathe a child, to which they said they’ll have to learn how to in due time and that made Robin more worried. Unfortunately for her, she was pushed off to her room so that she could rest. Her protests died down the minute she entered her room.

It had been left the same way she had left it. Nothing was displaced, but it was clear someone had been coming in to clean out the room regularly. She walked into the room and looked at her scattered papers on which she had written rough drafts for Chrom’s wedding festivities. She glanced around the room further and was completely and utterly baffled. She found everything she used to have right where she remembered they were in her “organized mess”.

“Everything’s right where I left it…” she muttered quietly.

“Chrom made sure not to let anyone in your room. He always believed you’d come back eventually and remembered that your messes had some order to you,” Sumia piped up from the doorway.

“The maid had strict orders not to move anything and to do her best to clean the room and bed sheets!” Lissa added with a small laugh.

“He really didn’t have to do that,” Robin laughed along, picking up some stacks of papers and setting them down neatly in one corner of the room. “But I’m thankful nonetheless… It’s rather nice to come back to something I remember.”

Robin settled down on her bed and jokingly fell back on it and closed her eyes. She failed to take into account how tired she was and how soft the bed would be. She almost instantly passed out on it. Sumia and Lissa were worried at first when Robin didn’t respond, but they soon realized she had just passed out and were amazed by Robin’s skill to fall asleep whenever.

“We should go check on everyone and Morgan…” Sumia suggested to Lissa as she closed the door.

With that, they left and went back to everyone who were now in the one of the rooms playing with Morgan.

\----

Frederick observed Sumia and Lissa as they entered the room without Robin. He assumed she had fallen asleep and turned his attention back to Morgan. It was up to him to make sure Morgan received the care and attention he needed. Not that he minded. Morgan was a joy to be around and he was incredibly intelligent for his age. He was proud of his son and of his mother for raising him so well.

“Where’s Robin?” Chrom asked as he helped Sumia sit down next to him on a sofa.

“She passed out in her room. I don’t think she meant to,” Lissa piped up instead with a grin. “It was instantaneous!”

“We were quite worried for a moment,” Sumia added with a small giggle.

The room fell into silence once more as they monitored Nowi as she played with little Morgan. He was currently trying to catch one of her open palms, but Nowi was too quick for the slow toddler. Frederick didn’t mind the game much since it might help build his muscles and his reflexes.

They had an hour of rest before Morgan grew upset. Everything was fine until he started to whine and complain about something. The smell hit them before they could wonder what had made him upset. Everyone turned to Frederick then and he glared lightheartedly at them. _Now_ Morgan was his problem.

“Robin mentioned how he needed a bath… Perhaps now would be a good time?” Sumia suggested to Frederick as said man scooped up his stinky child.

“I suppose…” he muttered. It took all of his willpower not to be physically repulsed by the smell, but he was Frederick. He could do this.

With soiled child in tow, Frederick went off to bathe his son. He had a vague idea as to how to bathe a child, but he definitely wasn’t as confident as he would like to be about it. Still he brought Morgan to one of the restrooms and undressed the toddler. When he removed the soiled diaper, he almost vomited by the sheer smell. To think Robin had to deal with this for so long…

He cleaned Morgan a little for he refused to bathe him in water soiled with feces, before he put the child in the bath. He poured some soap in the bath and was quick to find out that he was not used to the bubbles. The child squealed in delight when he saw the bubbles and began to splash them, effectively getting it on Frederick as well. He didn’t mind and proceeded to try and bathe the squirming toddler. He failed to take into account how hard it would be to bathe a squirmy child. He might as well had been the one taking a bath by the time he was finished.

With a clean Morgan with a fresh new diaper, Frederick made his way back to his room so he could get a change of clothing. Once there, he changed his clothes while Morgan was settled on his bed. He kept a wary eye on Morgan the whole time of course. He turned back to find little Morgan passed out on the bed in just his diapers. It was then that something dawned on Frederick: Morgan didn’t have a lot of clothing. With that new and sudden realization, Frederick picked up his knitting gear and settled down with Morgan on his lap and began to knit some clothes for the child.

In that moment he almost felt complete… He had a child. He had always wanted to start a family one day, but something was missing in that family. A wife. Someone to love and cherish… someone who he could rely on and trust with all his heart…

His heart could not ignore the pull it had towards Robin despite all she had done. He began to wonder if she felt the same.


	14. Settling Down

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guys im so sorry about the lateness of this chapter ;u; i was suddenly struck with the strongest writer's block ever. I honestly wanted to write more to this, but I just couldn't write it out. I was feeling particularly bad for keeping you guys waiting so I decided to scrap the other idea for the next chapter :'D forgive me friends 
> 
> Not to mention my friend that helps me gather my thoughts whenever I hit a bump in the chapters has been really busy with life and all that so ahahahaaaaaaaaaaaa...been writing with no help at this point and it's painfully hard XD since you know when you usually get an idea it's just a mess and you end up debating on where to go with the idea or to scrap it? Yeah my friend helped me often with that. 
> 
> ANYWAY I hope you guys will enjoy this regardless :'D

Robin awoke with a start. Light was filtering through the window into the room she was in, and for a fraction of a second she didn’t know where she was. She sat up quickly and took in her surroundings. It was then that she remembered that she had arrived in Ylisstol hours before. When had she fallen asleep? Slowly she got off the bed and went to her mirror to look at herself. She let out a startled sound when she took in her appearance.

She looked much worse than she remembered she had when she arrived if she remembered right. She looked awfully tired with large bags under her eyes. The odd thing was that she felt quite rested and refreshed, so why did she look so tired? With a shrug, she fixed her hair as best she could and dressed herself to head out in order to find Morgan…

She dropped everything the minute she remembered her sweet boy. All she recalled was him being with everyone in the kitchens. Was he still there with them? Was he well? Had anyone hurt him? Did he eat? Was he bathed?

She hurried out the door and almost slammed into a maid who let out a small startled cry. Judging by what she carried, she might be the woman assigned to clean her room. The warm welcoming smile the maid sent to her was not what Robin had been expecting from her. She thought it would be some bitter maid whom detested her for all the trouble her room may have given her over the past year.

“Good morning,” the maid greeted brightly.

Robin paused then. Morning? If she recalled correctly, it had been past midday when they had arrived at the castle… Was the maid confused?

“Morning?” Robin voiced out curiously, raising an eyebrow at the maid.

“Yes, milady,” the maid responded once she caught the tone of her voice. “You’ve slept all day yesterday.”

She felt like all the air was knocked out of her lungs. How could she let that happen?! No wonder she looked so awful, she had overslept! And not the usual oversleeping she was known for, but rather way past that!

“Oh gods, where is my son?” Robin whispered in a panic to herself but the maid heard her.

“The boy? He’s with Sir Frederick,” the maid answered for her.

“Is he? Oh thank the gods,” Robin sighed happily and thanked the maid as she quickly went off to find the knight. She never wondered how the maid knew of Morgan and that he was with Frederick. She had completely forgotten that the only people that really knew were her old comrades and had yet to let it process that a maid wasn’t surprised by her mention of a son.

How little she knew of what had transpired around the castle in the hours that she was unconscious.

\-----

Frederick had to have someone cover his duties for the morning as Robin had yet to awaken and gods forbid he abandoned his son. If he did something of the sort, Robin would never forgive him and reconciliation would not happen any time soon.

Figuring out who Morgan really was had been an adventure Frederick hoped to not repeat again by himself. Robin appeared to have a system with Morgan and since he did not know what it was, Morgan had stressed him out a handful of times in the past couple hours with how upset he had gotten. The only thing that had not been problematic was food: his son loved anything as Robin had informed him before she had gone off to sleep. Aside from food, Morgan had been a difficult kid to understand. Whenever he wanted something, he’d gesture and try to form a sentence, but the words could never form correctly and Frederick often misunderstood what he wanted which upset the child greatly. It would have been rather comical had Morgan not kept him up all morning.

Frederick could function with little to no sleep, but Morgan gave him no mercy. The child had yet to master the art of sleeping through the night even at the age that he was at. He could not help but think about how much he’s like Robin in that aspect. Back when they were at war with Plegia, she would stay up till dawn working on something or would often have fretful sleep. Her passing out during meetings would have been comical had they not been at war.

Fortunately for Morgan, Frederick was a quick learner and began to understand whatever it was he blabbered to him. For example, Frederick now knew that Morgan really liked having a book read to him before bed. Didn’t matter what it was, he just wanted someone to talk him to sleep it seemed and his mother would remedy it by reading one of her books she may have had in the village probably. Morgan also hated sleeping alone and would often pop up wherever Frederick happened to be in his room; he never questioned how the child got out of the spare room since Morgan was still too short to reach the door handles. The most amusing moments were when Morgan would walk out of the spare room with his blanket draped over his shoulders and promptly fell asleep on the floor next to Frederick. After a few tries, Frederick had no choice but to call it an early night with his son in tow. The rest of the night happened to go by with Morgan squirming all over the bed, or soiling his diaper and being upset about it twice during the night.

Having spent the whole afternoon and night with Morgan, Frederick now understood why Robin had slept for as long as she did. In the few days he was with his son, he had yet to experience the full wrath of the toddler whom he currently fed breakfast to.

“Papa!” Morgan squealed out after a moment, bouncing in the chair he was currently propped up on. Frederick’s woes were mended in that instant. How could he be annoyed with someone so precious?

“Yes, my son?” Frederick played along, chuckling when some of the oatmeal dribbled down his chin.

“Good…food…” he commented after struggling for a good couple seconds on finding the right words.

“The food’s good?” Frederick repeated, an eyebrow raised. He had noted that Morgan had been trying his best to speak clearer lately; Robin had mentioned it too. His chest swelled with pride he didn’t know he had whenever Morgan was able to get the right words out.

“Ya! Food good!” he repeated more confidently after hearing his father say it.

“Is that so?”

Morgan nodded eagerly and reached for the spoon Frederick held. Frederick was hesitant to hand it over to the toddler at first, but he soon relented thinking it would be best to let Morgan practice feeding himself. What he didn’t expect was for Morgan to scoop up some of the oatmeal and offer it clumsily to him.

“Tie it!”

“…Try it?” Frederick repeated and Morgan nodded eagerly. “But I’ve already eaten, Morgan. That’s your breakfast.”

“No! Papa t…th… twy it!” Morgan protested.

Frederick could not resist further after witnessing Morgan trying that hard to fix his speech. With a soft chuckle he relented and took the spoon from Morgan. He eyed Morgan curiously as the child’s eyes lit up the minute Frederick brought the spoon closer to his mouth. What an odd kid. Almost as odd as his mother, he supposed. He tried the spoonful of oatmeal and tried not to choke on it from a chuckle as Morgan looked to be vibrating with excitement.

“It _is_ good,” Frederick confirmed. “You have excellent taste, Morgan.”

Their moment together was interrupted by a certain tactician barreling into Frederick’s quarters; he was surprised the door didn’t fall off its hinges from the force she used to bust it open. Frederick nearly leapt out of his skin and Morgan let out a startled scream. Both turned to look at Robin who looked like she’d seen a ghost or something.

“…Good morning?” Frederick spoke up awkwardly after a good minute of staring at her.

She seemed to gather her wits about her and relaxed a little. She sighed and ran a hand through her hair, laughing awkwardly.

“Um… Yes, good morning…”

“Good moning!” Morgan exclaimed once he caught on to the greeting.

Robin smiled brightly at Morgan and glanced to Frederick for a moment, as if asking for permission to enter and see her son. Frederick didn’t understand why considering she already burst into the room. He gave her a small nod and stood up from the crouching position he had been in so as to greet Robin properly. Robin had to admit that it was hard not to stare at such a fine specimen and was relieved that he finally straightened up. That had been the first clear view she had gotten of Frederick’s body and she could clearly see he had not let himself go one bit.

“He was just having his breakfast,” Frederick commented right as Robin walked over and greeted her son with such enthusiasm it startled even Morgan. It’s as if she hadn’t seen him in years.

“I can see that,” Robin replied as she encouraged Morgan to finish his meal and handed him the spoon back to him. She then turned her attention to Frederick. “Has he been bathed? He gets the most awful rash when he doesn’t have a bath- Did he eat yesterday- Did he keep you up? I know he’s a terrible sleeper-“

“Robin, he’s fine, I made sure of it,” Frederick cut her off.

“Ah… Of course you did… Thank you. I was so worried…” Robin trailed off as she noticed the knitted shirt and shorts Morgan currently wore. “Oh! Did you get him clothes? I was planning on buying some…”

“I made him a couple pairs last night,” Frederick replied simply as if it were no big deal. He moved over to a nearby table that contained all sorts of knitting equipment and picked up half a dozen outfits of different colors and patterns.

“You made these?” Robin repeated as she went over to him, leaving Morgan unsupervised with his oatmeal to look at the armful of baby clothing. “These are lovely, but… you do know kids grow really fast and he’ll probably outgrow these in a couple months, right?”

“I am quite aware of the fact, which is why I made several that are a couple sizes too big still,” Frederick proclaimed proudly as he pulled out a selection of clothes that looked too big.

“…Frederick, you never cease to amaze me with your amount of dedication…”

“I live to serve and protect.”

“Did you ever make clothes for Chrom, Lissa, and lady Emmeryn?”

“Most certainly! Gods forbid my lieges catch a cold for being improperly dressed!”

“What would they do without you?” Robin teased, but their moment was interrupted when they heard a clatter in Morgan’s direction.

Both turned towards the sound and paled at the scene. There was not a spot on Morgan’s body that was not covered in oatmeal while he held the spoon in his mouth. He dropped it the moment he realized his parents were both staring at him.

“…Uh oh,” Morgan said comically as he tried to cover the mess he made of himself.

Frederick turned to Robin who in turn stared up at Frederick with a less than pleased expression. He clearly needed a bath and both of them knew how much of a pain that generally was now.

“I’ll hold him down,” Frederick proclaimed as he rolled the sleeves of his shirt up to his elbows.

Robin could only sigh as she picked up her sticky son and went to the nearest washroom with Frederick in tow.

\----

Unfortunately for them, Morgan was much too powerful and broke free from his father’s grip. Frederick and Robin were not spared. They emerged dripping wet with a very content, giddy, and dry toddler wearing a cute set of the clothes Frederick had knitted him. Both parents looked displeased. They liked baths, but this was not what they had in mind.

“It might be wise to bathe with him next time,” Frederick sighed out as he pushed his soaked hair back from his face.

“Eh, what? Together?” Robin asked with a bit of a startled voice.

“Yes? Do you have something against bathing with your son? He’s still too young to remember much later on if that’s what you’re worried about.”

Robin didn’t want to admit it, but she thought Frederick meant all three of them. She felt a little dumb for assuming such a thing. Why would Frederick even consider bathing with her? That was just odd to begin with.

“N-no, sorry,” Robin muttered awkwardly as she glanced away from Frederick and out a window.

“Right, well I’ve got duties to attend to,” Frederick began as he looked down at Morgan and patted the toddler’s head. “If you need my assistance with Morgan, just ask, alright?”

She didn’t know how to answer him and just watched him awkwardly leave to change his clothes first… at least she hoped he would. His white dress shirt was sticking to him in all the right places and she’d hate to think someone else would marvel his body.

“…Why does that even matter to you, Robin?” she muttered quietly to herself as she began to walk back to her room to change. “He’s not your lover. Other women can gawk at him all they want! He’s just a friend… and the father of your child. No big deal, right?” she rambled on, trying to ignore the aching feeling in her chest.

Oh but it was a big deal and she knew it. When she saw the clothes Frederick knit for Morgan, she had such a strong urge to walk up to him to hug or kiss him, but she couldn’t! Watching him taking care of Morgan wasn’t helping her cause. He was such an amazing father and it destroyed her knowing they couldn’t be together for Morgan. He was probably wondering why they were always apart already! He had seen a few families back at the village and they were almost always together while he was alone with just his mother and a friend.

On top of it all he had been so nice to her despite what she’d done. He could have spent all his days hating her, yet here he was interacting with her and Morgan. Sure things were a bit awkward between them, but he at least didn’t flat out ignore her. She wondered if it may have hurt her less if he ignored her instead of being cordial; all it did was give her a false sense of hope. A hope that one day he would tell her what intrigued him so about her and that maybe, just maybe, he loved her just as much as she did him.

“Mama.”

Morgan’s voice brought her out of her thoughts as per usual lately and she glanced down at her son. He was clinging to her pants with a rather troubled look on his features. Robin thought that maybe he wanted to use the bathroom, but as she took in her surroundings, she knew what it was. There were a few maids in the hallway and they had all stopped whatever they were doing to stare at the two of them. Robin thought it might have been because she was soaking wet, but she came to the realization quickly enough…

They were looking at Morgan.

It was as if they were tearing Morgan apart with just their gaze. What was so intriguing about Morgan? Had they never seen a toddler around the castle? Surely one or two of these ladies looked old enough to have worked around the time Chrom and his sisters were kids…

Robin felt a strong instinct to protect her son and try to hide him from the stares. She moved to stand in front of him and smiled at the maids.

“May I help you with something?” Robin snapped with a tone that betrayed her smile and that got the maids to focus on whatever job they had been doing in a hurry. She took Morgan’s hand in hers and squeezed lightly.

She passed the maids quickly and once she got to her room she released Morgan’s hand. With a soft sigh, she changed her clothing and frowned deeply. Why had they been staring at Morgan the way that they had? Did they happen to know? It was highly possible that one of the castle servants may have overheard the conversation she had with her old friends and spread the word…

“Don’t dwell on it, Robin,” she sighed to herself as she finished dressing. “It’s probably nothing that serious. Maids are notoriously curious.”

Once she was dressed, she stepped out of the room with Morgan and paused in front of her door. What was she to do? The feelings she had before when she had been pregnant came flooding back to her; she felt lost. What was her duty in the castle? What could she do? Was she even needed here?

No, she could not let these feelings take over her. She’ll just find something to do. This would not repeat itself again. With a determined mind, she started walking down the hall to wherever Chrom could possibly be. She assumed he would mainly be in the throne room or the council room making plans with councilmen or helping his people with complaints. If anyone would be willing to help her out, it would be Chrom. She was done with running and hiding her troubles.

As she went, she could not help but notice the other castle servants would stop and stare at her and Morgan still. It had gotten so uncomfortable that Robin had to hide Morgan behind her cloak as they walked as the child was growing ever more upset about the stares. It seemed to take an eternity to reach the council room, but she knocked once and stepped inside without waiting for a confirmation. She froze by the door when she realized the conversation she walked in on.

“You can’t possibly have him as your lieutenant still, Sire! Who knows how many women he’s bedded before! The people will cause uproar once they learn of this!”

“The man should be dismissed from his post. Our men will think that it is right to bed their fellow comrades!”

“It will be used as an excuse in future cases and could, gods forbid it, cause an increase in assaults on women.”

“If that were to happen then our problem lies on our men, not the actions of one single man,” Chrom snapped at the councilmen before him. “Frederick is an honorable man despite giving himself to temptation once. I trust nobody else to be my lieutenant. In all his years of service, he has never made me question where his loyalty stands.”

“But-“

It was then that they all noticed Robin standing by the door, a stunned look on her features. Morgan was still by his mother’s side, holding on to the hem of her cloak. Chrom made to stand up, but before Robin knew it, she was walking up to the table they were all seated at. A switch had flipped and she was ready to protect the man she loved so dearly at the cost of her own expense without regard.

“I will have you know that what’s happened between Sir Frederick and I was purely consensual and if you’re here to place the blame on someone, then it is on _me_. _I_ made the first move that day. Sir Frederick was escorting me to my tent when I lured him in,” a slight lie as it had been Frederick who ushered them inside the tent after things got a little heated. “There’s only so much a man can resist when a woman so willingly offers herself to him. What would _you_ men have done had a woman lured you into her bedroom and spread her legs to you? _Please_. Enlighten me.”

All the men grew quiet in the room and refused to answer her. They seemed to be uncomfortable listening to Robin’s exaggerated lies. She meant it when she said she’d ruin herself before she’d ruin Frederick.

“Robin…” Chrom began softly, trying to calm her down.

“ _I’m waiting_ ,” Robin snapped at the older councilmen who refused to look her in the eye. If looks could kill, they would have died the second she looked at them.

“I-I suppose… it would be hard to say no…” one of the men admitted while sweating profusely.

The sly smirk that spread on Robin’s features only made all the men more uncomfortable and placed on the spot.

“That’s what I thought,” Robin snapped as she tapped on the table ever so lightly. “Sir Frederick could not be more honorable. He has offered to help raise his son despite me keeping him a secret for the past year and a half. Sir Frederick does not deserve your scorn; _I_ do.”

Silence greeted them once Robin was done speaking. Nobody dared say anything else and Robin was glad because she would probably say more vicious words to these men before her. The silence in the room was deafening; the only thing they could hear was Morgan babbling to himself somewhere in the room.

The men grew so uncomfortable that they excused themselves and left the room soon after. Once they were gone, Robin relaxed and let out a tired sigh. She hated putting herself in such a bad view, but she will do anything to protect Frederick.

“Was all of that true?” Chrom asked as he stared at Robin with a concerned look. Surely his friend hadn’t tempted Frederick, right?

“…No,” Robin sighed. “But I did make the first move. What happened afterwards we had both given consent to. Either one of us could have pulled away at any moment, but we never did.”

“Then why did you say that?”

“I’ll tear myself down before I let anyone destroy what Frederick’s worked so hard for, Chrom,” Robin admitted, smiling sadly at Chrom. “I came here knowing that everyone would try to question Frederick’s position and made a vow to myself that I will protect it as best as I can.”

Said man happened to remember Morgan had been in the room when the child tried to touch some decorative armor. He hurried over to Morgan and scooped him up before he could hurt himself touching things he shouldn’t have. Robin cursed under her breath for letting her guard down around Morgan. How could she have been so careless in that moment?

“That’s not… right, Robin,” Chrom struggled to say as he returned to her with a squirmy Morgan in his arms. “You shouldn’t tear yourself down for someone else. You said it was consensual so the blame would lie on the both of you, not just you.”

“Chrom, I am an amnesiac you found passed out on the field that you decided to make a tactician. Frederick is a man who has worked hard to get to the place where he’s at now. If I had to choose between him and I to protect, I would choose him.”

Chrom sighed softly and settled Morgan down on the table before him. They were quiet for a moment, just observing the toddler as he interacted with Chrom. Hearing Robin talk so negatively about herself alarmed him, but he supposed he somewhat understood where she was coming from. She had sound reason, but still, it was not right. How could she be so willing to throw her life away for everyone?

He paused in mid thought as something seemed to connect in his head. Was it everyone?

“…Robin, do you… Do you love Frederick?”

Robin stared at Chrom as she wondered how she should respond to the question. Should she be honest or should she lie about it? What would Chrom do with said information anyway?

“…Yes. I’ve loved him, but he does not feel the same. We’ve already established that years ago,” Robin answered softly while eyeing Morgan.

“What if he did?” Chrom pushed, narrowing his eyes at Robin. “What exactly did he tell you in his apology?”

Robin went to answer but she froze the minute she remembered the apology fully. For once she had stopped long enough to think about that day and what Frederick had admitted. He had been scared. Scared because he didn’t know what would happen afterwards. Scared that he would not love her the way she wished to be loved.

Did he… want to love her?

“I… I’m not sure, Chrom,” Robin struggled to say as she found it harder to breathe by the minute.

“Did he say whatever he told you because he was a little afraid? Pardon me, Robin, but I’ve known Frederick almost my whole life and if I’m right, having intercourse would have made him quite anxious after the fact. The man can barely take care of himself with how focused he is on us. Would he have been able to care for you? That’s what I think would go through his mind in that situation at least.”

Gods damn this man for growing a brain right then and there. He was so damn right.

“…That’s exactly what he was trying to say,” Robin admitted, running a hand through her hair nervously. “Surely he wouldn’t want to have anything to do with me after what I’ve done. What man would?”

“One that loves you just as much as you love them.”

“Chrom… This is Frederick we’re talking about.”

“Yes, but no matter the man, we always hope to be loved one day. He could very well love you.”

“That’s debatable…”

Chrom let out an exasperated sigh and practically slapped her on the shoulder.

“Sure, in any case, you still have to earn his trust again so maybe this was not the best time to bring this up…” he began so he could change the subject. “Anyway… Ever since I met Morgan, I’ve wanted to ask something…”

“What is it?” Robin asked, happy to leave the other matter alone.

“Can he call me uncle?”

“…Chrom you’re the Exalt-“

“I want to be his uncle.”

“Frederick wouldn’t approve of it.”

He turned to Morgan and snatched the chubby face between his hands. “Do you want me to be your uncle?”

“Yuh!”

“DON’T ASK HIM, HE DOESN’T KNOW ANY BETTER.”

\---------

Frederick’s day wasn’t as smooth as he would have liked. He too received plenty stares from the castle’s servants and it made him quite uncomfortable. Usually they scurried out of his way or hurriedly returned to their work, but this time they would all stop and stare. Why were they all staring at him? Did he perhaps leave something unbuttoned or untucked after he changed? Impossible. He never does.

With a sigh, he decided to disregard everyone and went to go meet up with the soldiers they had been training. He had asked Cordelia to take care of things while he had been busy with Morgan for most of the morning and was determined to relieve her of her extra duties for the day. He expected things to be going well and orderly with how Cordelia was. She never disappointed.

Certainly he did not expect to find the field in slight disarray and the soldiers blatantly ignoring Cordelia’s orders. Well they were listening, but after a while of sparring, they would pause and start talking amongst themselves. He had to take a moment to understand what it was he was seeing before him.

He quickly moved to stand beside Cordelia, ready to question her, but the words died when he saw the concerned look on her features the minute she turned towards him.

“I don’t think it would be wise for you to be out here, Frederick,” she stated, gripping the lance in her hands tightly.

“Whatever do you mean?” Frederick questioned as he paused.

“The soldiers are… Well they heard about Morgan being your son.”

“Is there a problem with that?”

“As you can see, it’s sparked some unrest among the soldiers… Some have even questioned your leadership,” Cordelia sighed out, running a hand through her red hair. “The women protest about how you will not protect them, while the men are a little… enthusiastic.”

“Sir Frederick!” one female soldier interrupted their conversation. “Is it true that you have a child?”

All the other soldiers’ attention turned to them and many others began to question the same thing. Some even went as far as questioning his behavior. Frederick stared at the scene before him, vaguely remembering Robin’s fears about his status being threatened and questioned by many after it. He surely underestimated how riled up everyone would be.

“Yes,” Frederick answered simply as he had no need to hide anything.

“Haven’t you always lectured us about not having intercourse with comrades?”

“Yeah, I didn’t realize the rule excluded you!”

And several other soldiers voiced their irritation at Frederick as he struggled to find a way to respond to them all. Sure he had lectured them incessantly about the risks of intercourse, but he didn’t recall ever telling them not to. He _was_ rather embarrassed to break his number one rule:  _if_ you couldn’t hold back your urges, you had to be sure to try and avoid impregnating your partner.

“I’d like to reiterate to you that I never once said you could not, rather you should all be careful whenever you do,” Frederick stated sharply, earning complete silence from the group. That’s what they get for listening to him half-assedly.

“Nevertheless I do admit I’ve done wrong by my word and should have been more careful. But this will not excuse any future incidents; myself included! I expect all of us to behave properly from here on out. Every single one of you are crucial to this army and having any woman pregnant during a time of war is one less warrior on our side. If your intentions _are_ to start a family however, you are more than welcome to try in times of peace. I hope that all of you would do better than I have in that regard.”

Everyone stayed quiet for a few minutes, either from Frederick admitting fault or the fact that they were free to do as they pleased from the very beginning. They stood there dumbfounded and it only aggravated Frederick further. Why were they still standing around for? They could be going back to training.

“Now would you care to explain to me why you’re all standing around here for? Would you like to run a thousand laps around the city?” Frederick inquired so uncharacteristically quiet that it frightened all the soldiers to submission. He didn’t need to always yell for his soldiers to listen.

The crowd of soldiers hurried back to the open field and resumed the combat exercises they were supposed to be doing since early morning. Unfortunately Frederick was left rather displeased by their insubordination and ordered more vigorous and intense exercises as ‘mild’ punishment he said.

“…You make it seem so easy,” Cordelia muttered slightly impressed.

“When you always make promises, they’re more inclined to listen,” Frederick answered simply. It sent a shiver up Cordelia’s spine. Those poor fools that dared test him…

“I’ll keep that in mind…” she mumbled quietly, letting Frederick yell at some straggler before she asked, “Speaking of your son, how is he? You had to spend the night with him, right?”

“And most of the morning,” Frederick agreed as he figured out a way to tell her how much of a _joy_ Morgan was. “…He was rather interesting. I got to see a side of him I had yet to see in my few days with him. He kept me up for the better part of the night. Despite that, Robin’s raised him well. Couldn’t have asked for anything to be done differently…  Perhaps getting him to sleep through the night and sitting still during bath time would be something to reinforce in the future.”

“What’s it like?”

“Whatever do you mean?”

“Having a child… especially under your circumstances.”

“Ah… It’s upsetting at first and a little hard to accept, but the minute I held Morgan in my arms, my mind was at ease. I had always wanted my own child and while the circumstances of his birth were not what I had in mind, I wouldn’t trade him for the world.”

Cordelia listened to Frederick’s words carefully. She could tell he already loved his little boy, and honestly how could he not? He was quite the cute kid and had everyone excited for Sumia and Chrom’s child. But she could not help but wonder about something… how did Frederick feel about Robin? A man like him doesn’t just fall prey to any woman’s seductions. She’d seen other women attempt to win a spot in Frederick’s bed or cot multiple times and Frederick always turned them away. So why did this happen with Robin? Could it be that he was attracted to her? Was he still attracted?

“Say Frederick… Would you mind if I ask you a very personal question?” she began, her hands getting rather clammy under the armored gauntlet.

Frederick stayed quiet as he contemplated the question but nodded anyway. Cordelia was someone he held in high regard and was positive she’d never spill anyone’s secrets if there were any.

“Do you by chance… love Robin?”

Maybe he heard her wrong.

“Pardon?”

“Do you love Robin? I can’t think of any other reason as to why you would have… well you know. I can’t help but think that you may have or are currently attracted to her.”

Frederick could not figure out a way to respond to her. This was a topic he didn’t think she’d breech yet here she was. He cleared his throat awkwardly as he decided that the best way to answer this was to start with the past as his current feelings for the tactician were complicated.

“I did love her and you are correct to come to such a conclusion,” he sighed out, running a hand through his hair.

“You did? What about now?”

“It’s… I don’t really know,” he answered quietly, eyeing the soldiers to make sure no one would hurt each other. “I… can’t deny that I still have feelings for her, but I feel quite troubled.”

“Were you hurt by what she’d done?”

“Yes. I often wonder if perhaps it was all my fault? Had I created an untrustworthy relationship between us at some point?”

“No, I don’t think so. Robin can be secretive when she wants to. It could be because of her amnesia? To understand her, I sometimes put myself in her shoes. What kind of person would I be if I lost all my memories? Out of all the possibilities, only one thing seems to tie everything together: insecurity. I’d be very insecure and would probably question my every move. _Did I used to do these things? That stranger is staring at me; did they once know me? Is this alright? Am I doing this right?_ Your mind is always cluttered with questions to the point you start to get anxious and scared… I’m honestly surprised she’s done well as our tactician with all that she deals with.”

“…I suppose you’re right. I never thought about it that way.”

“Don’t beat yourself up over it, Frederick. Think about it this way: at least she came back, was honest about it all, and is more than happy to let you see your son. I’m not saying you _have_ to forgive her immediately, but rather, don’t stay hung up on it.”

Frederick sighed softly and nodded. Cordelia was right. Robin had gone out of her way to make things up to him however she could, but he was making things hard for her. Perhaps he should try and go out of his way for her more often? He would get to see Morgan more often and ease any troubling thoughts Robin may be having.

“Thank you, Cordelia. You’ve helped ease my troubles if only slightly,” Frederick muttered with a firm nod.

“I’m glad I may have helped you with your situation, Frederick. Perhaps tonight you’ll rest a little easier.”

“Indeed.”

Deep in his heart he doubted it.

**Author's Note:**

> woooo i apologize for that sad scene right there yonder but it has been years since I've written a fanfiction lol. Keeping Frederick in character is really hard so bare with me -sob- and everyone for that matter lol
> 
> I hope it didn't suck too much. This is a story that I've had circulating in my head for several months now and decided to share it with you all! Planning the in-between content of the later parts of the story is going to be difficult :'D


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